Schuylkill Haven is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, four miles (6 km) south of Pottsville, in the United States.

History

Early in the twentieth century, it had large car shops, underwear and shoe factories, rolling mills, and pipe mills. In 1900, 3,654 people lived here; in 1910, 4,747; and in 1940, 6,518 people lived here. In the census of 2000, the borough population was 5,548.

Schuylkill Haven was incorporated as a borough on June 11, 1840, from North Manheim Township. Schuylkill Haven's history was built upon the Schuylkill canal and railroad transportation of Anthracite coal from the coal Region. As one of the county's larger boroughs, and with the establishment of Penn State Schuylkill campus near its southern boundary, Schuylkill Haven is a key community in Schuylkill County.

Jacob Dreibelbis laid out the town in 1811, but the founding of the town is dated at 1750 by Martin Dreibelbis. Construction of the Schuylkill Canal began in 1816 and ran through the center of town. Commercial trade on the canal was eventually replaced by the railroads. Another key industry was textile factories such as Argo Mills, which closed in the 1960s, due to foreign competition.

Geography

Schuylkill Haven is located at (40.628174, -76.172587).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²), all of it land.

Street Grid

The borough is laid out following the path of the Schuylkill River. Other than Center Avenue (PA Route 61) no other street goes completely through the borough. The designation of East and West for borough streets is divided at St. John Street. The designation of North and South varies. Garfield Avenue is divided by Center Avenue; Berne Street is divided by Columbia Street; and Main Street divides Margaretta Street, St. Peter Street and St. John Street.

PA Route 61 transverses the borough by way of Center Avenue. PA Route 443 (from west to east comes into the Borough on W. Columbia Street and turns left onto Parkway, then right onto W. Main Street and then leaves the borough's opposite end by way of East Main Street. Old Route 61 runs along E. Liberty Street.

The Schuylkill Canal once flowed where Parkway is now located.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,548 people, 2,393 households, and 1,536 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,908.2 people per square mile (1,508.5/km²). There were 2,551 housing units at an average density of 1,797.0/sq mi (693.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.22% White, 0.76% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.26% of the population.

There were 2,393 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the borough the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $32,442, and the median income for a family was $41,286. Males had a median income of $33,047 versus $20,582 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $16,804. About 7.1% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 15.3% of those age 65 or over. Schuylkill Haven's nickname is "The little town that could" and their athletic teams are known as the "Hurricanes".

Schools in Schuylkill Haven

High Schools

• Blue Mountain High School
• Schuylkill Haven Area High School

Elementary Schools

• Schuylkill Haven Middle School
• Schuylkill Haven Elementary School
• St. Ambrose Elementary School -- Part of the Education System of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown.

Colleges and universities

• Penn State Schuylkill

References

External links

• Schuylkill Haven Official Web Site
• http://www.schuylkillhavenhistory.com