Atglen, Pennsylvania

Borough of Atglen
Borough
Atglen Municipal Building
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Chester
Elevation	489 ft (149 m)
Coordinates	39°56′53″N 75°58′26″W / 39.94806°N 75.97389°WCoordinates: 39°56′53″N 75°58′26″W / 39.94806°N 75.97389°W
Area	0.9 sq mi (2.3 km^2)
- land	0.9 sq mi (2 km^2)
- water	0.0 sq mi (0 km^2), 0%
Population	1,406 (2010)
Density	1,562.2 / sq mi (603.2 / km^2)
Timezone	EST (UTC-5)
- summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	19310
Area code	610 Exchange: 593
Location of Atglen in Pennsylvania
Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
Website: http://www.atglen.org

Atglen is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,406 at the 2010 census.

History

The land upon which Atglen now stands was once a wilderness. Cutting through it were paths made by Indians who traveled from Paxtang (present day Harrisburg) to present day Newcastle, Delaware to trade with the Swedes and later, the English. The great Minquas path was one of them. Enterprising businessmen grew bolder in their desire to stimulate business so they began to travel to the Indian's own homes. There were even some French men in the area who traded with the Indian, as did the English.

Stories have come down to us that at the Greenwood Forge location, Indians slept by the fireplace of Andrew Moore's home, which was built after he came to America in 1723.

In 1717, Sadsbury township was organized. It included all of present-day Sadsbury Township as well as Fallowfield, Highland, and Valley townships.

In August 1728, several inhabitants petitioned the court to separate Sadsbury from Fallowfield because of the former's size.

In November 1728, the township was subdivided into East and West Sadsbury, and in 1729, upon the division of Chester County into Lancaster and Chester counties, the line between the two divisions of the township was made to conform to the county line.

During the mid 18th century, more and more settlers arrived, drawn by the rich farming land that is located here. The Indian trails became horse tracks and later wagon tracks as farmers shipped their goods to market in Philadelphia and Newport or New Castle, Delaware. The old Provincial Highway as authorized by the government was laid out in 1730 and the Newport Road to the ore mines at Cornwall, Lebanon County, was laid out in 1796.

Roads sprang up from these wagon tracks — the Lancaster-Philadelphia road, (It became a turnpike after 1792) and the Strasburg Road. The road to Newcastle was turnpiked in 1807.

Settlers came from England, Scotland, and Ireland to live in this province of Pennsylvania where freedom of religion had been guaranteed by its founder, William Penn. The earliest organized religious group were the Presbyterians, who in 1720 formed what we know today as the Upper Octorara Presbyterian Church.

They were followed by the Quakers who in 1724 founded the Sadsbury Meeting House. A year later, the English settlers formed their church at St. John's Church, Pequea, at Compass.

Andrew Moore (1688–1753), who had been influential with Samuel Miller in founding Sadsbury Meeting House, built a tub mill on his property and usage by the settlers in this area. Many older residents will remember the old Moore Mill as Chalfanat's Paper Mill seventy years ago. Andrew Moore's son, James, also had a grain mill powered by water from the east branch of the Octorara Creek.

The earliest settlers in the vicinity of Atglen appear to have been the Philips and the Moores. The former owning much of the valley upon which the borough of Atglen now stands, and the latter the hilly area north of the borough west to Nobleville, south of present-day Christiana.

Geography

Atglen is located at 39°56′53″N 75°58′26″W / 39.94806°N 75.97389°W (39.948106, -75.973887).^[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	347		—
1890	397		14.4%
1900	404		1.8%
1910	546		35.1%
1920	650		19.0%
1930	620		−4.6%
1940	588		−5.2%
1950	668		13.6%
1960	721		7.9%
1970	740		2.6%
1980	669		−9.6%
1990	825		23.3%
2000	1,217		47.5%
2010	1,406		15.5%
Est. 2014	1,410	[2]	0.3%
Sources:[3][4]

At the 2010 census, the borough was 85.6% White, 7.4% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, and 1.5% were two or more races. 5.8% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 1,217 people, 413 households, and 317 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,377.2 people per square mile (534.0/km²). There were 429 housing units at an average density of 485.5 per square mile (188.2/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 88.17% White, 8.38% African American, 0.16% Asian, 2.30% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.93% of the population.

There were 413 households, out of which 46.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 34.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $48,393, and the median income for a family was $52,500. Males had a median income of $38,553 versus $25,125 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $17,732. About 11.9% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.5% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

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  Rt 372

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  Atglen library

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  Methodist Episcopal Church

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  Post Office

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  Bell from the original Municipal Building

References

1. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
2. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
3. "Census of Population and Housing: Decennial Censuses". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
4. "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
5. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

History: Annals of Atglen

External links

• Borough of Atglen
• Atglen Borough Weather