Danville, Pennsylvania

Danville, Pennsylvania
—  Borough  —
Downtown Danville
Danville, Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°57′42″N 76°36′43″W / 40.96167°N 76.61194°W / 40.96167; -76.61194Coordinates: 40°57′42″N 76°36′43″W / 40.96167°N 76.61194°W / 40.96167; -76.61194
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Montour
Settled	1776
Incorporated (borough)	1792
Government
– Mayor	Ed Coleman
Area
– Total	1.6 sq mi (4.1 km2)
Population (2000)
– Total	4,897
– Density	3,087.2/sq mi (1,189.1/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC)
Zip code	17821
Area code(s)	570
Website	Danville

Danville is a borough in Montour County, Pennsylvania, USA, of which it is the county seat, on the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. Danville was home to 8,042 people in 1900, 7,517 people in 1910, and 7,122 people in 1940. The population was 4,897 at the 2000 census. ^[1].

Danville is part of the Bloomsburg–Berwick Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Iroquois land until a 1768 treaty, Chester County native and American Revolutionary War figure William Montgomery purchased a plot of land in 1774 and established a trading post called Montgomery's Landing. In 1792 he constructed a house there, which is now a small museum inside the town. In the same year his son Daniel plotted the area between Mill Street and Church Street, the historic core of the town which now bears his name.

Danville was part of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, when it was founded. In 1813, Columbia County, Pennsylvania was formed from part of Northumberland Co. Danville became the county seat of Columbia Co. until 1845, when an election moved the seat to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1850, Montour County was formed from part of Columbia. Danville then became the county seat of Montour.

Danville became a transportation center in the 19th century, served by several railroads and the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. Coal and iron mines in the surrounding hills and mountains fueled the local economy, and by mid-century Danville was an important iron mill town. Many of the rails of the nation's expanding railroad system were made in Danville. A local marker claims that the first T-rail rolled in the United States was rolled in Danville, on October 8, 1845 at the Montour Iron Company, though this is claimed for Mount Savage, Maryland, as well.

Montour and several other enormous iron mills dominated the town for most of the 19th century and the iron industry was the chief employer in the region. The iron mills fell into decline, however, as steel replaced iron in the 20th century. The city celebrates this era with an annual Iron Heritage Festival in July, and the main street is still named "Mill Street".

In 1869 the Danville State Hospital was built as a state institution for the treatment and care of the insane.

Abigail Geisinger, widow of iron magnate George Geisinger, used his fortune to build a hospital and clinic intended to be a regional medical center modeled after the Mayo Clinic. The Geisinger Hospital was completed in 1915, and has grown over the years. Today, the Geisinger Medical Center is the most important tertiary referral center in northern Pennsylvania. Geisinger and its affiliated institutions are also one of the largest employers in the region.

Geography

Danville is located in northeastern Pennsylvania at 40°57′42″N 76°36′43″W / 40.96167°N 76.61194°W / 40.96167; -76.61194 (40.961607, -76.611947)^[2]. It is located on the north bank of the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. The contiguous community south of the river is Riverside. The surrounding country is low mountain ridges of the Appalachian range. The town is bisected by U.S. Highway 11 and has an exit from Interstate 80 to the north. There are also deposits of limestone in the vicinity.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), all of which is land area.

Notable people

• Jacob Coxey, socialist and populist American politician, and minor party candidate for the office of President of the United States. Was the leader of Coxey's Army, considered to be the first significant protest march on Washington, D.C.
• Joseph Parry, Welsh-born composer of hymns whose song 'Aberystwyth' was adapted into Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, the National anthem of South Africa.
• Christopher Latham Sholes, inventor of the first practical typewriter and the QWERTY keyboard configuration still in use today ^[3]

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
2000	4,897		—
2010	4,699		−4.0%

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 4,897 people, 2,277 households, and 1,238 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,087.2 people per square mile (1,189.1/km²). There were 2,523 housing units at an average density of 1,590.5 per square mile (612.7/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 96.06% White, 0.78% African American, 0.12% Native American, 1.80% Asian, 0.47% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.

There were 2,277 households out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.6% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the borough the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $30,498, and the median income for a family was $38,778. Males had a median income of $30,375 versus $24,313 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $16,693. 10.6% of the population and 6.0% of families were below the poverty line. 16.1% of those under the age of 18 and 8.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Schools

Danville Area School District is the local public education agency. In 2007, the Pittsburgh Business Times ranked the district 119th out of 499 Pennsylvania school districts based on three years of Pennsylvania System of Student Assessment test scores.

Recreation

The Borough Council is a partner of the Montour Area Recreation Commission. They hope to attract state funding to study recreational opportunities along the Susquehanna River.^[5] Hess Feild is a park located on Meadow Lane

The Montour Area Recreation Commission (MARC) led a local volunteer effort to clear the abandoned towpath of the North Branch Canal along the Susquehanna River. A mile of the towpath was cleared, permitting biking, walking and running near the Danville Soccer Park. The canal is over 200 years old. It was an important part of the region's transportation system. Canal boats and rafts moved farm produce, lumber and people up and down the river.^[6] This is part of a greenway effort to develop recreation and commercial opportunities along the river. The long-term vision is to create a regional trail that connects Northumberland to Catawissa and on to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
3. ^ "Early Typewriter History," http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/Dvorak/history.html.
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
5. ^ North, Jamie, "Recreation group enlists borough", The Daily Item, July 11, 2007.
6. ^ North, Jamie, "Recreation Commission Reviving towpath", The Daily Item, July 7, 2007.

External links

• DanvillePA.com, sponsored by the Press-Enterprise
• Danvilleboro.org
• Greenwood Friends School
• Iron Heritage Festival
• Susquehanna Greenway Partnership
• From the Boroughs to the Bay
• Van Wagner Music