Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
—  Borough  —
Coordinates: 40°11′55″N 76°43′46″W / 40.19861°N 76.72944°W / 40.19861; -76.72944Coordinates: 40°11′55″N 76°43′46″W / 40.19861°N 76.72944°W / 40.19861; -76.72944
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Dauphin
Settled	1755
Incorporated	1828
Government
– Type	Borough Council
– Mayor	Robert Reid
Area
– Total	2.1 sq mi (5.4 km2)
– Land	2.0 sq mi (5.2 km2)
– Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation	103 ft (31 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	9,142
– Density	4,536.5/sq mi (1,751.6/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Zip code	17057
Area code(s)	717
Website	Middletown Borough

Middletown is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River, nine miles (15 km) southeast of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Middletown was founded in 1755 and was incorporated as a borough in 1828. It is the oldest incorporated community in Dauphin County and is in a rich agricultural area bordering Pennsylvania Dutch Country. In the past, it had flouring and planing mills, stove works, car shops, and shoe, hosiery, cigar, and furniture factories. In 1900, 5,608 people lived there; in 1910, 5,374; and in 1940, 7,046. The population was 9,242 at the 2000 census.

The George Everhart (Frey) Trust, named for a citizen of Middletown from the 1800s, still manages leases on much of the land in and around Middletown. The Trust was founded to operate the Frey Orphanage; and did so for many years, in three locations in Middletown. The Orphanage eventually closed and the final location, on Red Hill, has become the Frey Village Retirement Community, a Diakon Lutheran senior living facility.^{[citation needed]}

Middletown is located less than five miles (8 km) away from the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. The Unit #2 reactor there suffered a partial meltdown in 1979, causing then-Governor Richard "Dick" Thornburgh to order the evacuation of pregnant women and pre-school children from the area. Within days, 140,000 people had left the area.^[1][2] The Mayor of Middletown, at the time, was Robert G. Reid [1], the first Black Mayor in Pennsylvania. Then President Jimmy Carter visited Middletown's Community Building to calm the nerves of anxious residents.

Because the town is so old, architecture styles abound. Middletown has everything from a log cabin to Victorian mansions, and beyond. The Simon Cameron House and Bank, B'nai Jacob Synagogue, St. Peter's Kierch, Charles and Joseph Raymond Houses, Henry Smith Farm, and Swatara Ferry House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[3]

Geography

Middletown is located at 40°11′55″N 76°43′46″W / 40.19861°N 76.72944°W / 40.19861; -76.72944 (40.198491, -76.729326)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), of which, 2.0 square miles (5.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (2.87%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 9,242 people, 4,032 households, and 2,370 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,536.5 people per square mile (1,749.2/km²). There were 4,387 housing units at an average density of 2,153.4 per square mile (830.3/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 88.77% White, 7.34% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 2.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.18% of the population.

There were 4,032 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.2% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the borough the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.5 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $35,425, and the median income for a family was $43,661. Males had a median income of $32,891 versus $24,692 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,535. About 4.6% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

• Middletown Area School District

References

1. ^ People & Events: Dick Thornburgh
2. ^ A Decade Later, TMI's Legacy Is Mistrust The Washington Post, March 28, 1989, p. A01.
3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
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

• Official website