Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
Town

Bloomsburg Town Hall in 2012
Nickname(s): The only incorporated town in Pennsylvania

Map showing Bloomsburg in Columbia County

Map showing Columbia County in Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 41°00′04″N 76°27′14″W / 41.001°N 76.454°WCoordinates: 41°00′04″N 76°27′14″W / 41.001°N 76.454°W
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Columbia County
Bloom Township 1797
Town of Bloomsburg March 4, 1870
Government
 • Mayor Sandy Davis
 • Town Council Eric Bower, Bill Kreisher, Fred Trump, Diane Levan, Sylvia Costa, W. Carey Howell
Area
 • Total 4.59 sq mi (11.888 km2)
 • Land 4.39 sq mi (11.370 km2)
 • Water 0.2 sq mi (0.518 km2)  4.98%
Elevation 531 ft (161.849 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 14,855
 • Density 3,383.83/sq mi (1,306.50/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP Code 17815
Area code(s) 570 Exchanges: 380,387,389,784
Website http://www.bloomsburgpa.org/

Bloomsburg is a town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States, located 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Wilkes Barre along the Susquehanna River. With a population of 15,127 as of 2011,[1] it is the county seat of Columbia County[2] and the only incorporated town in Pennsylvania.[3]

Bloomsburg is one of two principal communities of the Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Columbia and Montour counties,[4] and had a combined population of 82,387 at the 2000 census.[5]

History

A marker behind the airport showing the height of the river during historic floods (the dirt mark is from the 2006 floods).
A monument set up by the Daughters of the American Colonists honoring Native American settlement in Bloomsburg

The first signs of European settlement date to the year 1772, when James McClure established a log cabin in the area. Until the mid-19th century, it was just a small village, known as the Bloom Township. Traditionally, Bloomsburg's founding in 1802 has been ascribed to settler Ludwig Eyer, son of Johann Martin Eyer.[6][7] For 75 years after the discovery of ore in the area, Bloomsburg developed a booming iron industry.

For more than a century, starting from its incorporation on March 4, 1870, Bloomsburg held the distinction of being the only incorporated town in Pennsylvania. While other municipalities are often commonly referred to as towns, they were all officially classified as either cities, boroughs, or townships. Bloomsburg still uses the slogan of "The only incorporated TOWN in Pennsylvania", and state government publications continue to describe Bloomsburg as "the only incorporated town" in Pennsylvania.[8][9][10] However, in 1975, McCandless Township, in Allegheny County adopted a home rule charter under the name "Town of McCandless".[11][12]

The Bloomsburg Historic District and Rupert Covered Bridge No. 56 are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[13]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.6 square miles (12 km2), of which, 4.4 square miles (11 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) of it (4.98%) is water.

Bloomsburg is bordered by the Susquehanna River to the south, Scott Township to the east, and Fishing Creek to the northwest and west.[14]

Neighboring municipalities

Climate

The average high temperature in January is 35° Fahrenheit with the average low temperature in January is 19° Fahrenheit. The average high temperature in July is 85° Fahrenheit and the average low temperature in July is 62° Fahrenheit. The month with the least precipitation is February, which has 2.37 inches on average. The month with the most precipitation is June, which has 4.5 inches on average.[15]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18201,626—
18302,09028.5%
18401,774−15.1%
18503,12276.0%
18602,668−14.5%
18703,34125.2%
18803,70210.8%
18904,63525.2%
19006,17033.1%
19107,41320.1%
19207,8195.5%
19309,09316.3%
19409,7997.8%
195010,6338.5%
196010,6550.2%
197011,6529.4%
198011,7170.6%
199012,4396.2%
200012,375−0.5%
201014,85520.0%
Est. 201214,633−1.5%
Sources:[16][17][5][18]

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 12,375 people, 4,080 households, and 1,791 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,818.1 people per square mile (1,088.4/km²). There were 4,399 housing units at an average density of 1,001.8 per square mile (386.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.42% White, 2.60% African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.74% of the population.

There were 4,080 households out of which 19.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.2% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 56.1% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the town the population was spread out with 12.3% under the age of 18, 45.5% from 18 to 24, 18.6% from 25 to 44, 12.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 77.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $24,868, and the median income for a family was $39,806. Males had a median income of $29,940 versus $19,961 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,819. About 10.5% of families and 31.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Top of the Bloomsburg, PA Post Office

The town of Bloomsburg is administered by a Town Council of six members and the mayor. As an incorporated town, the mayor can vote along with council on every motion. This is different than most borough councils, where there are seven council members and the mayor can only vote to break ties.[19] The current mayor is Sandy Davis.[20]

Education

Bloomsburg is served by the Bloomsburg Area School District, which has about 1,800 students enrolled from the town itself, western, and southeastern suburbs.

Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School in Bloomsburg has numerous secondary education trade programs.

The Central Columbia School District has approximately 2,100 students and encompasses the eastern and northern suburbs of Bloomsburg.

Bloomsburg University, one of the 14 institutions in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, had a 2012 enrollment of 10,000 full-time undergraduate and 846 graduate students.

Additionally, there are several private religious and non-denominational schools in and of the immediate vicinity of Bloomsburg.

Recreation

The one park in Bloomsburg is the 43-acre (170,000 m2) Town Park,[21] established in 1927. The Norris E. Rock Memorial Swimming Pool and the Bloomsburg Skate Park immediately adjoin the park. The town has also purchased the former Streater Farm at the confluence of Fishing Creek and the Susquehanna River, which is being converted into athletic fields, a nature preserve, and a walking path that will be tied in with the existing Columbia-Montour Rails-to-Trails program.

Notable businesses

Notable businesses located in the Bloomsburg zip code include Mariano Construction Inc, Kawneer Inc (division of Alcoa), Milco Industries, Bloomsburg Carpet, Autoneum (formerly Rieter Automotive Systems, formerly Magee Carpet Company), MoonLite Telescope Accessories and Anodizing, Dyco, and KYDEX LLC.

On May 31, 2009, Bloomsburg Mills, Inc., after 120 years of weaving and finishing fabrics in Bloomsburg, went out of business, closing both a local plant and a dye plant in Monroe, North Carolina. The closure affected over 200 employees in both locations.[22]

Bloomsburg, PA, Columbia Montour (Counties) Chamber of Commerce

In early 2014 Windsor Foods (formerly Del Monte Foods) closed their doors and affecting more than 160 employees. Company officials cited flooding as a result of Tropical Storm Lee as one of their reasons for the plant closing.[23]

Culture

Bloomsburg is home to the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble. The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble was founded in 1978 to establish a resident professional ensemble for the production of quality entertainment and educational programs for the region, and to promote the arts.

The town also has a public library, Bloomsburg Public Library, founded in 1899 and funded jointly by the taxpayers of Bloomsburg, Scott Township, and Hemlock Township.

Bloomsburg is also home to the Bloomsburg Fair (the largest fair in the state of Pennsylvania) which, since 1855, is a traditional farm fair.

The David Stroup Fountain, erected in 1892, is a fountain located at Bloomsburg's Market Square. David Stroup was the owner of a local candy shop who left money in his will to the town's water works. The current fountain is a restored version of the original, which was dismantled in 1966 due to its deterioration but was put back together in 1982 by two local residents. The original crane sculpture, which was at the top of the fountain, was lost in storage until 2005, when it was cleaned, repaired, and replaced on the fountain.

The Children's Museum is at 2 West Seventh Street.

Local media

Bloomsburg is home to one daily newspaper, the Press Enterprise. Bloomsburg has two online news site The Bloomsburg News http://www.thebloomsburgnews.com covering all of Bloomsburg activities. BloomUtoday.com covering Bloomsburg University News & Entertainment as well as local news; The Voice, Bloomsburg University's student newspaper, covers university-related campus news.[24]

Several radio stations also serve the area, including WHLM (formerly WCNR-AM), WHLM-FM (formerly WKAB), and WFYY-FM (formerly WHLM-FM). The town is primarily served by Service Electric Cablevision cable TV and receives both the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market television stations and Philadelphia stations.

Transportation

Air

The Bloomsburg Municipal Airport

Bloomsburg is home to the Bloomsburg Municipal Airport. It is in the southeast of Bloomsburg, along the Susquehanna River.

Road

The main highways in Bloomsburg are U.S. Route 11, Pennsylvania Route 42 (serves the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds) and Pennsylvania Route 487. Also, Interstate 80 has interchanges north of the town.

Utilities

References

  1. ↑ "Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania". city-data.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Welcome to the Town of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania". bloomsburgpa.org. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  4. ↑ MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS AND COMPONENTS, Office of Management and Budget, May 11, 2007. Accessed 2008-07-27.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Town of Bloomsburg". genealogytrails.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ "RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: Ancestors of Dustin & Dylan Hileman". ancestry.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  8. ↑ Pennsylvania Manual, Volume 117
  9. ↑ "Search - PA Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED)". newpa.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Local Government Entities in Pennsylvania" and "Municipal Statistics" in Legislator’s Municipal Deskbook for Pennsylvania
  11. ↑ "Bloomsburg". columbiamontourchamber.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  12. ↑ Pennsylvania Code, Title 302, Chapter 23
  13. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
  14. ↑ "Google Maps". google.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  15. ↑ http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/bloomsburg-pa/17815/
  16. ↑ "Number of Inhabitants: Pennsylvania". 18th Census of the United States. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Pennsylvania: Population and Housing Unit Counts". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  19. ↑ Borough Mayors Manual, June 1, 2003, retrieved October 23, 2014
  20. ↑ Szymanski, Mallory (November 8, 2007), Bloomsburg student elected Mayor, retrieved April 10, 2009
  21. ↑ "Parks & Recreation". Bloomsburg Town Park. Town of Bloomsburg. 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  22. ↑ http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/04/13/daily7.html retrieved on April 13, 2009.
  23. ↑ http://wnep.com/2013/10/25/windsor-foods-to-close-bloomsburg-plant/ retrieved on August 18, 2014.
  24. ↑ Stories can also be found online at www.buvoice.com.

External links

Media related to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania at Wikimedia Commons