Leechburg, Pennsylvania

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


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Pennsylvania
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Armstrong
government_footnotes =
government_type = Council-Mayor
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Charles A. Pascal, Jr.
leader_title1 =
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leader_title2 =
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established_title = Settled
established_date = 1832
established_title1 = Incorporated
established_date1 = 1850
area_magnitude =
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unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_total_km2 = 1.3
area_land_km2 =
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area_total_sq_mi = 0.5
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population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_note =
population_total = 2386
population_density_km2 = 2047.2
population_density_sq_mi = 5320.9
timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 40
latm = 37
lats = 45
latNS = N
longd = 79
longm = 36
longs = 13
longEW = W
elevation_footnotes =
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postal_code_type = Zip code
postal_code = 15656
area_code = 724
website =
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Leechburg is a borough in southern Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States, 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. Leechburg was founded by David Leech, for whom it was later named, and was incorporated as a Borough in 1850.

Located along the Kiskiminetas River, Leechburg was known as a major port of the Pennsylvania Canal. Early in the twentieth century, it had been the site of extensive steel sheet works, foundries, cement plants, and productive coal mines. Leechburg was the first place where natural gas was used for industrial purposes.

Local Government

Leechburg is governed by a Mayor and Council. The current elected officials for the Borough (and the year their current terms expire) are as follows:

Mayor Chuck Pascal (D)(2010)

Council President Anthony Defilippi (R)(2012)

Council Members: Robert T. Foster (D)(2012), Pete "PJ" Frejkowski (D)(2010), Brian Scott (D)(2010), Bonnie Sherbondy (D)(2012), G. Paul Simon (D)(2010), and Jim Spiering (D)(2010).

Leechburg is one of only three municipalities in Armstrong County to have full time, seven day a week police coverage. The police department consists of three full time and several part-time police officers. The Chief of Police is Michael Diebold.

Federal and State Representatives

Leechburg is in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District, represented in Congress by Rep. John Murtha (D).

At the state level, Leechburg is in the 38th Senatorial District, represented by State Senator Jim Ferlo (D), and in the 55th Legislative District, represented by Rep. Joe Petrarca (D).

Geography

Leechburg is located at coor dms|40|37|45|N|79|36|13|W|city (40.629304, -79.603727)GR|1, and is 800 feet above sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), of which, 0.4 square miles (1.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (8.16%) is water.

The town is bordered by the Kiskiminetas River to the south, on the border of Westmoreland County, and Gilpin Township to the north.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 2,386 people, 1,109 households, and 645 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,320.9 people per square mile (2,047.2/km²). There were 1,193 housing units at an average density of 2,660.5/sq mi (1,023.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.53% White, 1.26% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67% of the population.

There were 1,109 households out of which 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the borough the population was spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 23.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $27,434, and the median income for a family was $38,785. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $25,901 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $16,242. About 7.9% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

Historical population

Population:
1850: 359
1870: 368
1880: 1,123
1890: 1,921
1900: 2,459
1910: 3,624
1930: 4,489
1940: 4,275
1950: 4,042
1960: 3,545
1970: 2,999
1980: 2,682
1990: 2,504
2000: 2,386

History

Leechburg was founded in 1850 by David Leech.Prior to 1850, the settlement was known as White Plains.

Education

The children of Leechburg are educated by the Leechburg Area School District. The school district consists of Leechburg, Gilpin Township and West Leechburg Borough.

References

External links

*http://www.15656.com - The Leechburg Business Connection
*http://www.15656.com/lip/ - The Leechburg Intersection Project (Pictures of intersections in Leechburg)
*http://www.leechburgwiki.com - The Leechburg Wiki