Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Settled in 1749, Shippensburg is a borough in Pennsylvania, 41 miles (66 km) southwest of Harrisburg. In 1900, 3,228 people lived there; in 1910, 3,457; and in 1940, 5,244 people lived there. The population was 5,586 at the 2000 census.

Shippensburg is located in the Cumberland Valley on the fringe of Cumberland and Franklin counties and was incorporated as a borough on January 21, 1819. In the past, there were furniture factories, engine and pump works, and other industrial works located within the town. Shippensburg is also the home of The Beistle Company, the oldest and largest manufacturer of decorations and party goods, which sells its distinctive honeycomb paper decorations worldwide. It is also the location of Pague and Fegan, the oldest continuously operated hardware store in Pennsylvania.

Shippensburg is also home to Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, one of 14 universities of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Contents 1 History 2 General Information 3 Geography 4 Demographics 5 External links

[edit] History

Shippensburg is the oldest community of the Cumberland Valley, and the second oldest west of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. In July 1730, 12 Scotch-Irish families came to the site of the present day Shippensburg and built cabin homes along Burd's Run. Shippensburg began as the western outpost of colonial settlement.

The village received its name from Edward Shippen, a prominent resident of Lancaster (and one time mayor of Philadelphia) who obtained the patent to the land from the heirs of William Penn.

In 1735, Samuel Perry built the Widow Piper's Tavern, which stands at the southwest corner of East King Street and Queen Street. This building was selected as the place for the first Cumberland County Courts in 1750 and 1751. The building has been restored and serves today as the home of the Shippensburg Civic Club.

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1871 as a Normal School.

[edit] General Information

• ZIP code: 17257
• Area code: 717
• Local phone exchanges: 300, 477, 530, 532
• The current mayor of Shippensburg is Bruce Hockersmith

[edit] Geography

Shippensburg is located at 40°2′58″N, 77°31′26″W (40.049453, -77.523830)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 5.2 km² (2.0 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 5,586 people, 2,397 households, and 1,138 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,067.7/km² (2,772.0/mi²). There were 2,602 housing units at an average density of 497.3/km² (1,291.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.16% White, 3.44% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population.

There were 2,397 households out of which 20.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.5% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.5% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the borough the population was spread out with 17.6% under the age of 18, 28.5% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 16.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.5 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $27,660, and the median income for a family was $39,896. Males had a median income of $29,387 versus $21,775 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $14,816. About 9.4% of families and 28.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.6% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] External links

• History at RootsWeb

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.049453° -77.52383°
  • 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