Crafton, Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 40°26′1.93″N 80°4′5.33″W / 40.4338694°N 80.0681472°W / 40.4338694; -80.0681472

Crafton, Pennsylvania
Borough
intersection of East Crafton, Noble and Dinsmore Avenues in Crafton, PA.
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Allegheny
Coordinates	40°26′1.93″N 80°4′5.33″W / 40.4338694°N 80.0681472°W / 40.4338694; -80.0681472
Population	5,951 (2010)
Timezone	EST (UTC-5)
- summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	15205
Area code	412
Location of Crafton in Allegheny County
Location of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania
Website: Crafton Borough

Crafton is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, west of downtown Pittsburgh. The population grew from 1,927 in 1900 to 4,583 in 1910 and to 7,163 in 1940. The population was 5,951 at the 2010 census.^[1]

History

Crafton is named after James S. Craft, a frontier attorney who was granted land near the "forks of the Ohio" in present-day Oakland.^[2] The sale of this land part financed purchases of land in the Chartiers valley. Charles Craft, son of James, divided the land into lots on the death of his father and submitted it to the Allegheny County Courthouse as Crafton. Following a period of building, the borough was incorporated in 1882, with Charles as the first burgess.

Crafton was linked to downtown Pittsburgh by trolley in 1896. The service ended when the Fort Pitt Bridge was built without trolley tracks.

Crafton was rated as being the best place to raise children in Pennsylvania, according to Bloomberg Businessweek's "Best Places to Raise Your Kids 2011".^[3]

Geography

Crafton is located at 40°26′2″N 80°4′5″W / 40.43389°N 80.06806°W / 40.43389; -80.06806 (40.433869, -80.068146).^[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), all of it land.

Surrounding communities

• North – Ingram (an Allegheny county borough)
• North east – Crafton Heights (a Pittsburgh neighborhood)
• East – Westwood (a Pittsburgh neighborhood)
• South – Oakwood and East Carnegie (Pittsburgh neighborhoods)
• West –Thornburg (an Allegheny county borough)
• North west – Fairywood (a Pittsburgh neighborhood)

Demographics

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 6,706 people, 3,079 households, and 1,613 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,916.0 people per square mile (2,291.3/km²). There were 3,344 housing units at an average density of 2,950.1 per square mile (1,142.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.50% White, 2.74% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population.

There were 3,080 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.6% were non-families. 40.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% 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 3.01.

In the borough the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $38,323, and the median income for a family was $52,386. Males had a median income of $38,292 versus $24,497 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $21,441. About 3.4% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher is a native of Crafton and attended Carlynton High School.

Gallery

• 

  Creighton Avenue, platted in 1895

• 

  St. Philip Roman Catholic Church, built in 1906, located at 50 West Crafton Avenue

• 

  Episcopal Church of the Nativity, built in 1908, located at 33 Alice Street

• 

  The Campbell Building, circa 1910, located at 3 Crafton Square

• 

  Crafton Elementary School, built in 1913, located at 1874 Crafton Boulevard

• 

  The George Leber House, built in 1938, located at 132 East Crafton Avenue

• 

  Crafton Volunteer Fire Hall, located at Noble and Bradford avenues

References

1. ^ "Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), Crafton borough, Pennsylvania". U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder 2. http://factfinder2.census.gov. Retrieved September 19, 2011. 
2. ^ "Crafton Historical Society". http://www.craftonhistoricalsociety.org/walking_tour.htm. Retrieved July 8, 2010. 
3. ^ "The Best Places to Raise Your Kids 2011". http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/20101214/the-best-places-to-raise-your-kids-2011/slides/39. Retrieved December 16, 2010. 
4. ^ "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. 
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Crafton Borough (official site)