Sellersville, Pennsylvania
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Sellersville is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,564 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] Geography
Sellersville is located at (40.358565, -75.310082)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 3.1 km² (1.2 mi²). 3.0 km² (1.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.69%) is water. It is located in Southeastern Pennsylvania as part of Northern Bucks County which borders Philadelphia County.
[edit] Overview and History
Sellersville began in the early 1700s. It was centered on a major road known as Bethlehem Pike that connected Philadelphia to Bethlehem and the rest of what was then far Western Pennsylvania. The town was very small and its most notable feature was a large inn. The Inn is today called the Washington Road House because it is believed to have been visited at least once by George Washington during the Revolutionary War. The town grew slowly over the years until the Industrial Revolution. In the 1860s the North Pennsylvania Railroad was built, running parallel to Bethlehem Pike: this stimulated the growth of light textile industries and brought a wave of population growth. The East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek runs through the town which connects it to an adjacent town of Perkasie. This creek was dammed in the early 1900s creating a small body of water known as Lake Lenape. Along the length of the lake a park was built on Perkasie and Sellersville lands. In the 1920's and 30's this park housed a carousel, a roller coaster and several other amusements. The railroad brought hundreds of people from Philadelphia in the summer time, and it became a well known vacation spot for blue collar city workers.
Today the town is still relatively small, sandwiched in between a ridge line and the larger town of Perkasie. The center of town still runs along Bethlehem Pike which is now called the old Route 309. The Washington House still stands and has recently been restored to become a five star restaurant. The creek is no longer dammed and only the carousel in Perkasie remains of the amusements. The textile industry has long moved out of the area and Sellersville has become mainly a residential town for people working in the many urban centers that are only a short commute away. The addition of Grandview Hospital on the ridgeline overlooking Sellersville has provided some local jobs making the town a home for mainly middle class families. The town is surrounded on three sides by open country and spread out housing developments. On the other side it has grown into Perkasie to the extent that the border is only distinguishable by a few signs.
St. Joseph's University graduates, and former Hawk baseball players, Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher and 20+ year Major League Baseball veteran and Jim Myers, a nationally-recognized branding and marketing expert (and guiding force behind Orville Redenbacher's Microwave Popping Corn) are natives of Sellersville.
The painter Walter Emerson Baum was born in Sellersvile and painted many scenes around the local area.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 4,564 people, 1,770 households, and 1,198 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,519.1/km² (3,934.1/mi²). There were 1,827 housing units at an average density of 608.1/km² (1,574.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.30% White, 0.57% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.99% of the population.
There were 1,770 households out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the borough the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 36.9% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $46,500, and the median income for a family was $55,313. Males had a median income of $38,018 versus $27,056 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $19,970. About 5.4% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
