Municipality of Murrysville, Pennsylvania

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Murrysville, Pennsylvania
nickname =
motto =


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pushpin_label_position =left
pushpin_map_caption =Location within the state of Pennsylvania
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_name1 = Pennsylvania
subdivision_name2 = Westmoreland
leader_title = Chief Administrator
leader_name = John M. Barrett
established_title = Settled
established_date = 1788 (as Franklin Township)
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 =
area_total_sq_mi = 37
area_land_km2 =
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area_urban_km2 =
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population_as_of = 2000
population_note =
population_total = 18,872
population_metro =
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population_density_km2 =
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timezone = Eastern
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = Eastern
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd=40 |latm=26 |lats=5 |latNS=N
longd=79 |longm=39 |longs=24 |longEW=W
elevation_m = 338.3
elevation_ft = 1110
website = [http://www.murrysville.com www.murrysville.com]
footnotes = Municipality of Murrysville is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,872 at the 2000 census.

Although Murrysville holds the municipal status of a Borough, the vast area that it comprises is equivalent to the size of a larger Pennsylvania Township.

Geography

Municipality of Murrysville is located at coor dms|40|26|5|N|79|39|24|W|city (40.434828, -79.656724)GR|1. It is roughly 20 miles east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on U.S. Route 22, just east of the county line that separates Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 36.9 square miles (95.7 km²), of which, 36.9 square miles (95.6 km²) of it is land and 0.03% is water.

The municipality contains the following boroughs and villages in addition to Murrysville: Delmont, Export, Newlonsburg, Sardis, and White Valley.

Government

Murrysville is governed by a mayor, who is elected every two years and has administrative powers, and a seven member council, whose members are elected every four years and have legislative powers. [ [http://www.murrysville.com/muni_info.html Murrysville Municipal Government Information ] ]

Demographics and Details

USCensusPop
1930=3535
1940=3797
1950=4937
1960=8517
1970=12244
1980=16036
1990=17240
2000=18872
footnote=source: [cite web | title = Land Patterns | publisher = Municipality of Murrysville | url = http://www.murrysvillegov.org/documents/comp_plan/appendix-a.pdf | format = PDF | accessdate = 2007-10-26 ]

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 18,872 people, 7,083 households, and 5,630 families residing in the borough. The population density was 511.0 people per square mile (197.3/km²). There were 7,396 housing units at an average density of 200.3/sq mi (77.3/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.38% White, 0.61% African American, 0.05% Native American, 3.28% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.16% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population.

There were 7,083 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.8% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.5% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the borough the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $64,071, and the median income for a family was $72,740. Males had a median income of $58,553 versus $32,567 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $32,017. About 2.2% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

Part of Murrysville, particularly Route 22 (which runs through it) is at the Westmoreland County/Allegheny County border. The Parkway East, which is a major express route to Pittsburgh, begins less than a mile from the borough border. As a result, Murrysville has become a popular "bedroom community" for people who wish to live in the suburbs, but have a convenient commute to the city of Pittsburgh.

Education

Murrysville, neighboring town Export, and parts of Delmont are served by Franklin Regional School District. The Franklin Regional School District, named one of the top districts in all of Pennsylvania operates five schools: three elementary (Sloan, Heritage, Newlonsburg), the Franklin Regional Middle School, and the Franklin Regional High School.

Notable residents

*Julie Benz (born 1972), actress
*Jeremiah Burrell (1815-1856), western Pennsylvania lawyer and judge
*Bobby Engram (born 1973), Seattle Seahawks wide receiver
*Ken Macha (born 1950), former manager of the Oakland Athletics
*Manu Narayan (born 1973), actor
*Candace Otto, Miss Pennsylvania 2003
*Robert Brooks, Jr (born 1970), Owner Wheeling Nailers Professional ECHL Hockey Team

Trivia

* The Haymaker Gas Well in Murrysville was the nation's first commercial natural gas well. For some time, it remained the largest commercial gas well in the world. http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=436]
* Since 1933, Murrysville has had a "tree sign" spelling out the word [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=murrysville&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=40.423208,-79.696503&spn=0.002695,0.007693&t=k&om=1 "Murrysville"] . The trees were landscaped to grow and form the letters by local Boy Scouts. The sign is situated on a large hill as one enters the borough from the Murrysville/Monroeville border, near U.S. Route 22. In 1947, the sign was featured in "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" as the world's largest arboreal sign. [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05157/516504.stm Murrysville landmark is fading from view ] ] (It is no longer the world's largest, or even the largest in the country; [http://maps.google.com/maps?p=&c=&t=h&hl=en&ll=30.069688,-97.134247&z=12 "Luecke"] , near San Antonio, Texas , is much larger.) The "Y" in the Murrysville sign points to the Haymaker Gas Well.
* A small scene from the movie Kingpin was shot at the Blue Spruce motel on Rt. 22 just west of Mcdonalds.

References

External links

* [http://www.murrysville.com Murrysville's official website]

* [http://www.inmurrysville.com Murrysville's official Community Magazine]

* [http://www.mecdc.com Murrysville Economic and Community Development Corporation]

* [http://www.yourmurrysville.com The Murrysville Star] , a local newspaper.

* [http://www.murrysvilleonline.com Murrysville Business Directory]

* [http://www.post-gazette.com//pg/06047/655848.stm News articles about the Murrysville tree sign and efforts to restore it: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 16, 2006]