Brownsville, Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 35 miles (56 km) south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River. In 1940, 8,015 people lived here. The population was 2,804 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] Geography
Brownsville is located at (40.020026, -79.889536)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.9 km² (1.1 mi²). 2.6 km² (1.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (9.91%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 2,804 people, 1,238 households, and 716 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,082.6/km² (2,796.6/mi²). There were 1,550 housing units at an average density of 598.5/km² (1,545.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 85.95% White, 11.41% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 2.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.
There were 1,238 households out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.2% were married couples living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the borough the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.7 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $18,559, and the median income for a family was $32,662. Males had a median income of $31,591 versus $21,830 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $13,404. About 28.8% of families and 34.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 51.2% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Features and History
Dunlap Creek Bridge (1839), carrying old U.S. 40 over Dunlap Creek, in Brownsville may be the nation's oldest dateable cast iron bridge. (Capt. Richard Delafield, engineer; John Snowden and John Herbertson, foundrymen) Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) [1]. Brownsville is also home to Nemacolin Castle and the Philander Knox House.
Notable residents of the area include Mother Angela (1824-1887), born Eliza Maria Gillespie, Catholic nun who founded St. Mary's Academy in Indiana and helped found the Catholic magazine Ave Maria"[1].
[edit] Businesses
Brownsville is the ultimate depiction of how the decline of industry and the rise of suburbanization has destroyed the small American downtown. Once thriving, nearly all of Brownsville's many downtown buildings are vacant. Gone are the many mom and pop stores and restraunts of old. All that remains in downtown Brownsville are an Eckard Pharmacy, a National City Bank, and a few bars. The only notable employer still located within the borough was the Brownsville General Hospital, which recently closed.
A good deal of the deterioration of the town is credited to negligence by the man who bought out the bulk of Brownsville's downtown. He intended to turn the buildings into a type of shopping outlet, but later changed direction toward creating an Indian casino, an plan which apparently also failed. Due to deterioration, historic buildings such as the Authenreith department store and the Plaza Theater have had to be demolished. More information about the plight of downtown Brownsville, from the decline of the coal era to the issues with the buildings' owner, may be available from Pittsburgh PBS station WQED. The station ran a popular short documentary on Brownsville and its neighbor Uniontown.
[edit] References
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- ^ (1963) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who.
One oasis in the bleak downtown is the historic Flatiron Building, 69 Market Street. An award winning restoration, the historic Flatiron Building houses a history Heritage Center and the Frank L. Melega Art Museum. Frank L. Melega (1905-1997) a Brownsville resident, is considered one of the greatest artists to depict the Coal and Coke Era. The museum features a collection of the artwork of Mr. Melega and changing exhibitons by visiting artists. The museum' s website is melegaartmuseum.org.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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Municipalities and Communities of Fayette County, Pennsylvania (County Seat: Uniontown) |
|---|---|
| Cities | Connellsville | Uniontown |
| Boroughs | Belle Vernon | Brownsville | Dawson | Dunbar | Everson | Fairchance | Fayette City | Markleysburg | Masontown | Newell | Ohiopyle | Perryopolis | Point Marion | Seven Springs | Smithfield | South Connellsville | Vanderbilt |
| Townships | Brownsville | Bullskin | Connellsville | Dunbar | Franklin | Georges | German | Henry Clay | Jefferson | Lower Tyrone | Luzerne | Menallen | Nicholson | North Union | Perry | Redstone | Saltlick | South Union | Springfield | Springhill | Stewart | Upper Tyrone | Washington | Wharton |
| Communities and CDPs | East Uniontown | Grindstone-Rowes Run | Hiller | Hopwood | Leith-Hatfield | Lynnwood-Pricedale | New Salem-Buffington | Oliver | Republic |
One Year in Brownsville - WQED special http://www.wqed.org/tv/pm/specials/brownsville.shtml
