North East, Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 42°12′48″N 79°50′1″W / 42.21333°N 79.83361°W / 42.21333; -79.83361

North East
Borough
Main Street, looking west toward Lake Street (PA 89)
Named for: North East Township [1]
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Erie
Coordinates	42°12′48″N 79°50′1″W / 42.21333°N 79.83361°W / 42.21333; -79.83361
Area	1.3 sq mi (3 km2)
Population	4,601 (2000)
Density	3,515.4 / sq mi (1,357 / km2)
Settled	1800
- Incorporated	February 27, 1834 [2]
Mayor	Steve Gregory
Timezone	EST (UTC-4)
- summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-5)
Zip code	16428
Area code	814
Location of North East in Erie County
Location of North East within Pennsylvania
Website: northeastborough.com

North East is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, 14 miles (23 km) northeast of Erie. Fruit growing was an early economic endeavor, and is still to this day, as this is a popular area for especially cherries and grapes. There is an annual Cherry Festival in the summer and an annual Wine Country Harvest Festival in the fall. It contains one college, Mercyhurst North East. In 1900, 2,068 people called it home, and in 1910, 2,672 people resided here. The population was 4,601 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the northern most town in Pennsylvania. The name North East seems to be a misnomer since the borough is located in extreme northwestern Pennsylvania, but it is so named for its northeastern-most location within Erie County, Pennsylvania.

Geography

North East is located at 42°12′48″N 79°50′1″W / 42.21333°N 79.83361°W / 42.21333; -79.83361 (42.213385, -79.833711).^[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), all of it land.

Short's Hotel (1899)
National Register of Historic Places

Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 4,601 people, 1,730 households, and 1,162 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,515.4 people per square mile (1,356.1/km²). There were 1,795 housing units at an average density of 1,371.5 per square mile (529.0/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.65% White, 0.80% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.59% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.87% of the population.

There were 1,730 households out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the borough the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $36,431, and the median income for a family was $43,250. Males had a median income of $33,939 versus $21,921 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $16,132. About 10.0% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

Lake Shore Railway Museum (1899)

Economy

North East's economy is primarily based on grapes. Vineyards carpet the township and there are at least 5 large wineries in the area. One of the borough's largest employers is Welch's. A major natural gas company has recently been granted permission to drill the first of 11 natural gas wells within the Township.

References

1. ^ Espenshade, A. Howry (1925). Pennsylvania Place Names. State College, PA: Pennsylvania State College. p. 316. OCLC 3028775. 
2. ^ Hottenstein, JoAnne; Welch, Sibyl (1965). "Erie County" (PDF). Incorporation dates of Pennsylvania municipalities. Harrisburg: Bureau of Municipal Affairs, Pennsylvania Department of Internal Affairs. p. 59. http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/pdfs/Erie.pdf. Retrieved August 10, 2010. 
3. ^ "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. 
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

Lake and Main Streets

External links

• Borough North East