Ford City, Pennsylvania

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Pagename
other_name =
native_name =
nickname =
settlement_type = Borough
motto =


imagesize =
image_caption =


flag_size =
image_

seal_size =
image_shield =
shield_size =
image_blank_emblem =
blank_emblem_size =
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position = right
pushpin_map_caption =
pushpin_mapsize =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Pennsylvania
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Armstrong
government_footnotes =
government_type = Borough Council
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
leader_title2 =
leader_name2 =
leader_title3 =
leader_name3 =
leader_title4 =
leader_name4 =
established_title = Settled
established_date = 1887
established_title1 = Incorporated
established_date1 = 1889
area_magnitude =
unit_pref =
unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_total_km2 = 2.0
area_land_km2 =
area_water_km2 =
area_total_sq_mi = 0.8
area_land_sq_mi =
area_water_sq_mi =
area_water_percent =
population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_note =
population_total = 3451
population_density_km2 = 1876.7
population_density_sq_mi = 4864.8
timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 40
latm = 46
lats = 17
latNS = N
longd = 79
longm = 31
longs = 48
longEW = W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m =
elevation_ft =
postal_code_type = Zip code
postal_code =
area_code = 16226
website =
footnotes =

Ford City is a borough in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States, 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Pittsburgh along the east bank of the Allegheny River and 4 miles south of Kittanning, the county seat.

It was founded in 1887 as a company town by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (now PPG Industries) as the site for its Works No. 3 glass factory. The town was named in honor of the company founder, John Baptiste Ford (1811—1903). The factory employed as many as 5,000 workers in its heyday. PPG shut down its Ford City operations in the 1990s.

In 1900, 2,870 people resided in Ford City borough proper; in 1910, 4,850 people lived there; in 1930, 6,127; and, in 1940, 5,795. The population was 3,451 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Ford City is located at coor dms|40|46|17|N|79|31|48|W|city (40.771410, -79.529906)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.0 km²), of which, 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (10.13%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 3,451 people, 1,580 households, and 935 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,864.8 people per square mile (1,876.7/km²). There were 1,713 housing units at an average density of 2,414.8/sq mi (931.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.38% White, 3.88% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.

There were 1,580 households out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.8% were non-families. 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the borough the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 25.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 84.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $24,457, and the median income for a family was $30,843. Males had a median income of $28,438 versus $21,919 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $14,318. About 13.5% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

In popular culture

Filmed in Ford City were scenes of the popular films "Night of the Living Dead" and "My Bloody Valentine". Ford City is one setting for the 1983 novel "A Country Such as This" by James H. Webb, now a U.S. Senator from Virginia. It is also used by the writer Frank Brookhouser in his books "Request for Sherwood Anderson" (1947) and "She Made the Big Town" (1952). The poet Peter Oresick has also written about it in "The Story of Glass" (1977).

References

*cite book | author=Pospishil, Victor J. (Ed.) | title=Ford City, Pennsylvania 1887-1962: The First Seventy-Five Years of Our Town | location=Ford City | publisher=The Ford City Public Library | year=1962 | id=ISBN none

External links