Abbottstown, Pennsylvania

History

Abbottstown is named for John Abbott, who founded it in 1753. The John Abbott House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The town had rail service via the East Berlin Railroad from 1877 to 1914 and 1916 to 1939. The tracks were removed in 1940.

In 1950 Abbottstown had a population of 538.

Geography

Abbottstown is located at 39°53′8″N 76°59′10″W (39.885621, -76.986120).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 905 people, 323 households, and 254 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,592.2 people per square mile (613.0/km²). There were 346 housing units at an average density of 608.7 per square mile (234.4/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.25% White, 0.22% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 3.87% from other races, and 0.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.52% of the population.

There were 323 households out of which 43.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.1% were non-families. 15.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the borough the population is spread out over several age groups, with 29.5% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 36.4% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $49,063, and the median income for a family was $52,578. Males had a median income of $31,736 versus $24,083 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $17,246. About 1.6% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.8% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.

In 2010 Abbottstown had a population of 1,011. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 88.4% non-Hispanic white, 1.4% black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 1.2% reporting two or more races and 9.4% Hispanic or Latino.

Education

Residents of Abbottstown may attend the local, public schools operated by Conewago Valley School District which provides full day kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2013, the Conewago Valley School District's enrollment declined to 3,936 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2010, Conewago Valley School District enrollment was 4,024 pupils. Conewago Valley School District operates: New Oxford High School (9th-12th), New Oxford Middle School (7th-8th), Conewago Valley Intermediate School (4th-6th), Conewago Township Elementary School (K-3rd) and New Oxford Elementary School (K-3rd). None of the District's schools are located in the Abbottstown.

In 2013, the Pittsburgh Business Times ranked Conewago Valley School District 310th out of 498 public schools for academic achievement of its pupils. In 2012, Conewago Valley School District declined to Warning Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status, due to lagging student achievement in both reading and mathematics.

High school aged students can attend the taxpayer funded Adams County Tech Prep [1] for training in the building trades, the culinary arts, Diesel Mechanics, allied health including Emergency medical technician (EMT) certification and other areas. The school is located on the Gettysburg Area High School campus at 1130 Old Harrisburg Road. Adams County Tech Prep is funded by a consortium of the school districts, which includes: Gettysburg Area School District, Littlestown Area School District, Fairfield Area School District, Conewago Valley School District and Bermudian Springs School District.

Residents may also choose between two local public charter schools: Vida Charter School and Gettysburg Montessori Charter School. In Pennsylvania, residents may attend public charter schools at no cost to the parents. The tuition is paid by their public school system. By Commonwealth law, if the public school district provides transportation for its own students, then the district must also provide transportation to any school that lies within 10 miles of its borders, as well as, all schools within its borders. Tuition at Conewago Valley School District rates in 2012 were Elementary School - $8,102.21, High School - $8,514.19.

Alternatively, Abbottstown school-aged residents may also apply to attend any of the Commonwealth's 14 public, cyber charter schools (in 2013) at no additional cost to the parents. Conewago Valley School District is required to pay the charter school and cyber charter school tuition for residents who attend these public schools in the Commonwealth. Residents may also seek admission for their school aged child to any other public school district. When accepted for admission, the student's parents are responsible for paying an annual tuition fee set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Lincoln Intermediate Unit #12 provides a wide variety of services to children living in its region which includes Abbottstown Borough. Early screening, special educations services, speech and hearing therapy, autistic support, preschool classes and many other services like driver education are available. Services for children during the preschool years are provided without cost to their families when the child is determined to meet eligibility requirements. Intermediate units receive taxpayer funding: through subsidies paid by member school districts; through direct charges to users for some services; through the successful application for state and federal competitive grants and through private grants.

Community members have access to the Adams County Public Library which is located on 140 Baltimore Street in Gettysburg; the East Berlin Community Library which is located on 105 Locust Street, East Berlin; the Littlestown Library, located at 232 North Queen Street, Littlestown; the New Oxford Area Library located at 122 North Peter Street, in New Oxford; the Adams County Historical Society Library which is located on 111 Seminary Ridge, in Gettysburg; and the Adams County Law Library located in the Court House, 117 Baltimore St Rm 305 in Gettysburg. All residents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have access to the PA Power Library [2] which is an online library funded with tax dollars from the state's education budget.

At Harrisburg Area Community College Gettysburg Campus, Abbottstown residents have access to college courses at a discounted tuition rate for state residents. Conewago Valley School District is not a tax funding district of the College. Abbottstown residents contribute to the community college through state taxation and funding in the annual Commonwealth budget.

Restaurants

The oldest restaurant in Abbottstown is the Altland House located on the small town's square. It has services for everything from rooms to rent, a formal dining area upstairs, and the Underside for a more casual atmosphere.

Notable people