Monessen, Pennsylvania

History

Monessen, named for the Monongahela River and the industrial German city of Essen, was created by land speculators fairly late in the history of the Mon Valley, after neighboring towns had already been settled. The East Side Land Company bought land from various farmers, laid out the streets, and then sold the lots to prospective residents and employers. James M. Schoonmaker, who had made his fortune in coke, owned a controlling interest in the land company. Other investors in the land company who were also immortalized in street names include Philander C. Knox, James H. Reed, H. Sellers McKee, George O. Morgan, and George B. Motheral. In May 1897, National Tin Plate Company, founded by William Donner, began building its mill, thus becoming Monessen’s first employer. Sales of lots began on July 27, 1897, for the general public and other employers. Monessen became a borough on September 3, 1898.

Monessen experienced rapid growth in the first two decades of the twentieth century, the population increasing from 2,197 in 1900 to 11,775 in 1910 and then to 18,179 in 1920.

While there were many companies operating in Monessen, the largest employer was Pittsburgh Steel Company, later renamed Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel. In a practice that is shocking by today’s standards (and not limited to Monessen), pay was determined by ethnic background. For example, a Welsh immigrant would be paid more than an Italian immigrant. A normal workweek was 84 hours (7 days times 12 hours). Employers did not adopt the eight-hour workday until the 1920s.

Monessen’s status changed from “borough” to “city” on September 16, 1921.

In the 1960s and afterwards, the region’s manufacturers, especially the steel industry, found it harder to compete, leading to an employment cutbacks. In 1972, the closure of Page Steel and Wire Company was a major setback to the city. A far greater blow to Monessen occurred when its largest employer, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, closed nearly all its Monessen operations in 1986. The company’s rail mill did not close until March 1987. The mill’s closure marked the end of an era in Monessen's history.

Monessen is currently trying to revitalize itself. The city has made efforts for several years to clean up abandoned properties in hopes of revitalizing the city. In January 2010 the first female mayor, Mary Jo Smith was sworn in at the Monessen Municipal Building. In 2013, Mayor Lou Mavrakis revealed the city has at least $8 million in long term debt which requires the city to budget $400,000 a year of its $4 million budget to payments on its debt.

Older residents understand that the steel mills will not be returning to the area. Younger residents barely remember the mills or are even unaware of the city's industrial past. "I remember when they tore the blast furnaces down," in the mid 1990s said one resident. "It was a big deal. My dad took me. I was 5."

The Charleroi-Monessen Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Government

Monessen is classified as a third class city in the 58th Legislative District in Pennsylvania.

Geography

Monessen is located at 40°9′15″N 79°52′58″W (40.154271, -79.882779).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²), of which, 2.9 square miles (7.5 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) of it (4.90%) is water.

Monessen is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area; otherwise, known as the Greater Pittsburgh Region.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Monessen has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,669 people, 3,916 households, and 2,451 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,986.8 people per square mile (1,154.2/km²). There were 4,468 housing units at an average density of 1,539.4 per square mile (594.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.71% White, 13.99% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population. 27.9% were of Italian, 8.4% Slovak, 7.5% German and 7.0% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 3,916 households out of which 21.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the city, the population was spread out with 19.6% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 29.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 84.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,686, and the median income for a family was $37,269. Males had a median income of $34,773 versus $21,508 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,627. About 11.5% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.7% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education

Residents of Monessen may attend the local, public schools operated by Monessen City School District which provides taxpayer funded preschool, full day kindergarten through 12th grade. The District's enrollment declined to 875 students preschool through 12th grade in 2013. Monessen City School District ranked 475th out of 500 public schools for academic achievement of its pupils in 2013. The School District of the City of Monessen was ranked 97th out of 104 western Pennsylvania school districts, in 2013, by the Pittsburgh Business Times.

Monessen residents may also apply to attend any of the Commonwealth's 13 public cyber charter schools at no additional cost to the parents. The resident’s public school district is required to pay the charter school and cyber charter school tuition for residents who attend these public schools. By Commonwealth law, if the District provides transportation for its own students, then the District must provide transportation to any school that lies within 10 miles of its borders. 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. In 2012, the tuition fees for Monessen City School District were: Elementary School - $10,109.75, High School - $11,837.19.

Westmoreland Intermediate Unit #7 provides a wide variety of services to children living in its region which includes Monessen. Early screening, special educations services, speech and hearing therapy 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.

Monessen City residents have access to Agape Day Treatment Program located in Monessen and the Westmoreland County Community College.

The Monessen Public Library is located at 326 Donner Ave, Monessen.

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