Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Pagename
other_name =
native_name =
nickname = The only TOWN in Pennsylvania
settlement_type = Town
motto =

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imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Aerial view of Bloomsburg


flag_size =
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seal_size =
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mapsize = 150px
map_caption = Map showing Bloomsburg in Columbia County


mapsize1 = 175px
map_caption1 = Map showing Columbia County in Pennsylvania
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Pennsylvania
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Columbia County
subdivision_type3 =
subdivision_name3 =
subdivision_type4 =
subdivision_name4 =
government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Dan Knorr
leader_title1 = Town Council
leader_name1 = Paul Kinney, Paul Houseknecht, Kathy Shepperson, Diane Levan, Sylvia Costa, W. Carey Howell
established_title = Bloom Township
established_date = 1797
established_title2 = Incorporated Town of Bloomsburg
established_date2 = March 4, 1870
established_title3 =
established_date3 =
area_magnitude =
unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_total_km2 = 11.888
area_land_km2 = 11.370
area_water_km2 = 0.518
area_total_sq_mi = 4.59
area_land_sq_mi = 4.39
area_water_sq_mi = 0.2
area_water_percent = 4.98
area_urban_km2 =
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population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
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population_total = 12375
population_density_km2 = 7298.845
population_density_sq_mi = 2818.1
population_metro =
population_density_metro_km2 =
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timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd=40 |latm=00 |lats=02 |latNS=N
longd=76 |longm=27 |longs=14 |longEW=W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 161.849
elevation_ft = 531
postal_code_type = ZIP Code
postal_code = 17815
area_code = 570
website = http://www.bloomsburgpa.org/
footnotes = Bloomsburg is a town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Wilkes Barre along the Susquehanna River. In 1900, the population of Bloomsburg stood at 6,170; in 1910, 7,413; in 1940, 9,799, and in 1990, 12,439. The population was 12,375 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Columbia CountyGR|6.

Bloomsburg is one of two principal cities of the Bloomsburg–Berwick Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Columbia and Mountour counties [ [http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2006/List5.txt MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS AND COMPONENTS] , Office of Management and Budget, 2007-05-11. Accessed 2008-07-27.] and had a combined population of 82,387 at the 2000 census.GR|2

History

The first signs of European settlement date to the year 1772, when James McClure established a log cabin in the area. Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was just a small village, known as the Bloom Township.

For more than a century, starting from its incorporation on March 4, 1870, Bloomsburg held the distinction of being the only incorporated town in Pennsylvania. While other municipalities are often commonly referred to as towns, they were all officially classified as either cities, boroughs, or townships. Bloomsburg still uses the slogan of "The only TOWN in Pennsylvania," and state government publications continue to describe Bloomsburg as "the only incorporated town" in Pennsylvania. [http://www.dgs.state.pa.us/pamanual/cwp/view.asp?a=437&Q=129762&pm=1&pamanualNav=| The Pennsylvania Manual 117] ] [ [http://www.newpa.com/download.aspx?id=82 "Pennsylvania Local Government Fact Sheet", 2005] ] [ [http://www.lgc.state.pa.us/deskbook06/Basics01_Local_Government_Entities.pdf "Local Government Entities in Pennsylvania"] and [http://www.lgc.state.pa.us/deskbook06/Basics08_Municipal_Statistics.pdf "Municipal Statistics"] in [http://www.lgc.state.pa.us/deskbook.html "Legislator’s Municipal Deskbook for Pennsylvania"] ] However, in 1975, McCandless Township, in Allegheny County adopted a home rule charter under the name "Town of McCandless". [ [http://www.columbiamontourchamber.com/Alliance/quality_of_life.html Bloomsburg] ] [ [http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/302/chapter23/chap23toc.html Pennsylvania code, Title 302, Chapter 23] ]

Geography

Bloomsburg is located at coor dms|41|0|2|N|76|27|14|W|city (41.000614, -76.453950)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.6 square miles (12.0 km²), of which, 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (4.98%) is water.

Neighboring Municipalities

*Mount Pleasant Township
*Scott Township
*Catawissa Township (separated by the North Branch of the Susquehanna River)
*Montour Township
*Hemlock Township

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 12,375 people, 4,080 households, and 1,791 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,818.1 people per square mile (1,088.4/km²). There were 4,399 housing units at an average density of 1,001.8/sq mi (386.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.42% White, 2.60% African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.74% of the population.

There were 4,080 households out of which 19.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.2% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 56.1% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the town the population was spread out with 12.3% under the age of 18, 45.5% from 18 to 24, 18.6% from 25 to 44, 12.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 77.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $24,868, and the median income for a family was $39,806. Males had a median income of $29,940 versus $19,961 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,819. About 10.5% of families and 31.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The town of Bloomsburg is administered by a Town Council of six members which is led by the Mayor. The current Mayor, Dan Knorr, has the distinction of being the youngest Mayor in Bloomsburg's history.

Education

Bloomsburg is served by the Bloomsburg Area School District, which has about 1,800 students enrolled from the town itself, western, and south-eastern suburbs. Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School in Bloomsburg has numerous secondary education trade programs.

The Central Columbia School District with approximately 2,100 students encompasses the eastern and northern Bloomsburg suburbs.

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, one of the 14 institutions in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, has about 7,600 undergraduate and 760 graduate students.

Recreation

The one park in Bloomsburg is its 43 acre Town Park, established in 1927. The Norris E. Rock Memorial Swimming Pool and the Bloomsburg Skate Park immediately adjoins the park.

Notable businesses

Notable businesses located in the Bloomsburg zip code include Mariano Construction Inc, R.R. Donnelly & Sons, Kawneer Inc (division of Alcoa), del Monte Foods, Milco Industries, Bloomsburg Carpet, Windsor Foods, Rieter Automotive Systems (Formally Magee Carpet Company), MoonLite Telescope Accessories and Anodizing, Dyco and Bloomsburg Mills.

Culture

Bloomsburg is home to the [http://www.bte.org Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble] . The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble was founded in 1978 to establish a resident professional ensemble for the production of quality entertainment and educational programs for the region, and to promote the arts.

The city also has a public library, Bloomsburg Public Library, founded in 1899 and funded jointly by the taxpayers of Bloomsburg, Scott Township and Hemlock Township.

Bloomsburg is also home to the Bloomsburg Fair which, (the largest fair in the state of Pennsylvania) since 1855, is a traditional farm fair.

The [http://www.bloomsburgpa.org David Stroup Fountain] , erected in 1892, is a fountain located at Bloomsburg's Market Square. David Stroup was a local candy shop owner who left money in his will to the town's water works. The current fountain is a restored version of the original, which was dismantled in 1966 due to its deterioration but was put back together in 1982 by 2 residents, Bill Brobst and Jay Fritz. The original crane sculpture, which was at the top of the fountain, was lost in storage until 2005, when it was cleaned, repaired and replaced on the fountain.

Local media

Bloomsburg is home to one daily newspaper, the "Press Enterprise". Bloomsburg has one online news site [http://www.bloomutoday.com BloomUtoday.com] covering Bloomsburg University News & Entertainment as well as local news. Several radio stations also serve the area, including WHLM-AM (formerly WCNR-AM) and WFYY-FM (formerly WHLM-FM). The town is primarily served by Service Electric Cablevision and receives both the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market television stations and Philadelphia stations.

Transportation

Air

Bloomsburg is home to the Bloomsburg Municipal Airport.

Road

The main highways in Bloomsburg are U.S. Route 11, Pennsylvania Route 42(serves the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds) and Pennsylvania Route 487. Also, Interstate 80 has some interchanges just north of the town.

Utilities

ELECTRICITY - PPL Electric UtilitiesNATURAL GAS - UGI Penn Natural Gas, Inc.CABLE TELEVISION - Service Electric Cable and CATV Service.WATER - United Water PA

References

External links

* [http://www.bloomsburgpa.org/ Official site]
* [http://www.bloomsburg.org Columbia-Montour Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.bte.org Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble]
* [http://www.bloomutoday.com BloomUtoday.com - Bloomsburg University News] .