Country United States County Schuylkill Incorporated 1857 Elevation 165 m Population 1,638 (2013) | State Pennsylvania Settled 1847 Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) Zip code 17929 Local time Friday 9:13 AM | |
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Weather -1°C, Wind W at 13 km/h, 45% Humidity | ||
Cressona is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. Formed in 1857 from part of North Manheim Township, it was founded by and named for John Chapman Cresson, a Philadelphia civil engineer and manager of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, President of the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Railroad and chief engineer of Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.
Contents
Map of Cressona, PA, USA
History
Until the Mine Hill Road was built in Cressona, the borough remained mostly wilderness, with some minor agricultural areas. In 1831, the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Railroad was completed, and the tracks went through Cressona. The borough was historically called West Haven, but the name was changed to Cressona. The borough was incorporated on February 2, 1857.
Geography
Cressona is located at 40°37′49″N 76°11′35″W (40.630214, −76.193003). According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2), all of it land.
Cressona is 4 miles south of Pottsville and is served by Pennsylvania Route 183, Pennsylvania Route 61, and Pennsylvania Route 901. The West Branch Schuylkill River goes through Cressona. Cressona is in the Coal Region of Pennsylvania.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,635 people, 663 households, and 468 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,600.3 people per square mile (618.9/km²). There were 711 housing units at an average density of 695.9 per square mile (269.1/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.53% White, 0.06% African American, 0.92% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, and 0.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.18% of the population.
There were 663 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the borough the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $39,783, and the median income for a family was $42,292. Males had a median income of $33,807 versus $21,563 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,285. About 1.3% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.