Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Geobox Borough
name = Borough of Lansdale
native_name =
other_name =
other_name1 =
category = Borough


image_size =
image_caption = Logo of the Borough of Lansdale


flag_size =
symbol_type =
symbol =
symbol_size =
nickname =
motto =
country = United States
state = Pennsylvania
region = Montgomery
region_type = County
district =
area_imperial = 3.1
area_land_imperial = 3.1
area_water_imperial = 0.0
area_water_percentage = auto
area_percentage_round = 2
area_round = 1
location =
lat_d = 40
lat_m = 14
lat_s = 31
lat_NS = N
long_d = 75
long_m = 17
long_s = 03
long_EW = W
elevation_imperial = 361
elevation_round = 1
population_as_of = 2000
population = 16071
population_density_imperial = 5245.8
population_density_round = 1
government_type = Government
government = Council-manager
established_type =
established =
mayor = Andrew Szekely
timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
postal_code =
postal_code_type =
area_code = 215
area_code_type =
code2_type =
code2 =
free_type =
free =
free1_type =
free1 =


map_caption = Location of Lansdale in Montgomery County
map1 = Pennsylvania Locator Map.png map1_size =
map1_caption = Location of Lansdale in Pennsylvania
map1_locator = Pennsylvania
map2 = Map of USA PA.svg
map2_caption = Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
website = http://www.lansdale.org

"Lansdale is also the surname of American author Joe R. Lansdale, and of Vietnam era Major General Edward Lansdale."

Lansdale is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 28 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Early in the twentieth century, its industries included agricultural implement works, a canning factory, foundries, brickyards, a silk mill, and manufacturers of cigars, stoves, shirts, rope, iron drain pipe, and glue. Fact|date=February 2007 In 1900, 2,754 people lived here; in 1910, 3,551; and in 1940, 9,316 people were inhabitants of Lansdale. The population was 16,071 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Lansdale is located at coor dms|40|14|31|N|75|17|3|W|city (40.241956, -75.284083)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 3.1 square miles (7.9 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 16,071 people, 6,620 households, and 4,051 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,245.8 people per square mile (2,027.8/km²). There were 6,893 housing units at an average density of 2,250.0/sq mi (869.7/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 85.40% White, 3.94% African American, 0.09% Native American, 7.98% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 0.73% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.90% of the population.

There were 6,620 households out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the borough the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $46,232, and the median income for a family was $54,891. Males had a median income of $40,009 versus $29,825 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $22,096. About 4.1% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Politics and government

Lansdale has a city manager form of government with a mayor and a nine-member borough council. Mayor Michael DiNunzio recently stepped down from his long time position as mayor, he was first elected in 1982. On Wednesday June 4, 2008, local chiropractor Andrew Szekely was appointed by council resolution to serve the remaining 18 months of the term. Mr. Szekely will serve until January 2010 [TheReporterOnline.com June 5 2008] . The Borough Manager is Lee F. Mangan.

The borough is part of the Thirteenth Congressional District (represented by Rep. Allyson Schwartz), Pennsylvania's 53rd Representative District (represented by Rep. Robert Godshall) and the 24th State Senate District (represented by Sen. Rob Wonderling).

chools

K-6 public elementary schools in Lansdale include Knapp Elementary, Oak Park Elementary, Walton Farm Elementary, and York Avenue Elementary. St. Stanislaus School is a Catholic K-8 school. Penndale Middle School serves grades 7-9. Lansdale area high schools include Lansdale Catholic High School, Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, and North Penn High School. The latter two high schools are located outside Lansdale Borough in neighboring Towamencin Township.

Kugel ball

Lansdale is home to a Kugel ball, which is a 2,200-pound dark grey granite sphere supported by a very thin film of water pumped from beneath its base. [ [http://www.kugel.com/faq.htm Kugel Ball FAQ] Retrieved on 18 September 2007] . The Kugel Ball is located in Railroad Plaza, adjacent to the SEPTA R5 train station in downtown Lansdale. The plaza consists of a bricked patio with benches centered around the Kugel Ball and closes at 11:00 pm. [cite web
title = Clute's Kugel
url=http://www.clutebarrownelson.org/kugel.html
accessdate = 2007-09-18 ]

History

Lansdale was named for Phillip Lansdale Fox, chief surveyor of the North Penn Railroad. By the naming conventions of the time, it should have been called Jenkintown, since the land immediately surrounding the train station was owned by the Jenkins family, but there was already a town by that name along the rail lineFact|date=February 2007.

According to legend, Lansdale was once home to the mysterious H tree, which stood on a 12 foot hill. There were supposedly 3 H trees in the whole world, which were thought to be the entrances to hell. One would have to circle one of the trees six times, and jump off the cliff, and the ground would open up and take you to hell. The H tree was cut down to make room for housing development. This has been featured in the book "Weird Pennsylvania." [cite book
last = Lake
first = Matt
title = Weird Pennsylvania
publisher = Sterling Publishing
date = July 25, 2005
pages = 18
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=G5VdDdAd5rMC&pg=PP1&dq=weird+pennsylvania&sig=4xKt8WagMz2XD0smGYNRRPvFFs8
isbn = 1402732791 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.lansdale.org/ Borough of Lansdale]