Meadville is the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania. The population was recorded as 13,685 in the 2000 census.

History

Meadville was founded on May 12, 1788 by a party of settlers lead by David Mead. Its location at the confluence of Cussewago Creek and French Creek, a day's travel by boat to the safety of Ft. Franklin.

Their settlement was in a large meadow, first cleared by Native Americans led by Chief Custaloga, and well suited for growing maize. The village Custaloga built here was known as Cussewago.

The neighboring Iroquois and Lenape befriended the isolated settlement, but their enemies, including the Wyandots, were not so amiable. The threat of their attacks caused the settlement to be evacuated for a time in 1791.

Around 1800, many of the settlers to the Meadville area came after receiving land bounties for service in the Revolutionary War. Allegheny College, the second oldest college west of the Allegheny Mountains, was founded in Meadville in 1815 and is the oldest college west of the Allegheny Mountains that has kept the same name from when it was founded. Meadville became an important transportation center after construction of the French Creek Feeder Canal in 1837 and of the Beaver and Erie Canal it connected to at Conneaut Lake and subsequent railroad development.

Meadville Theological School was established in 1844 by a wealthy businessman and Unitarian named Harm Jan Huidekoper. It moved to Chicago in 1926.

By the late 19th century, Meadville's economy was also driven by logging, agriculture, and iron production. The Talon Corporation, headquartered in Meadville, played a major role in the development of the zipper. Since the clothing industry was largely unaffected by the Great Depression, the community saw a population boom at that time. During World War II, the nearby Keystone Ordnance plant brought additional jobs to the area.

After the war, Meadville's industrial growth continued. Talon remained a major employer, along with the railroad industry, American Viscose (later known as Avtex Fibers), Channellock tools, and Dad's Pet Food. In the 1980s, the Great Lakes region saw a decline in heavy industry. By the early 1990s, Channellock and Dad's were the only large companies operating in Meadville. This blow to the local economy was softened by subsequent surge in light industry, mainly tool and die machine shops, earning Meadville the nickname Tool City, USA. The area has seen growth in the 1990s and 2000s.

Geography

Meadville is located at (41.642133, -80.147441).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.3 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,685 people, 5,436 households, and 2,891 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,145.2 people per square mile (1,214.7/km²). There were 5,985 housing units at an average density of 1,375.5/sq mi (531.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.98% White, 5.01% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population.

There were 5,436 households out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.5% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.8% were non-families. 38.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.4% under the age of 18, 20.0% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 81.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,402, and the median income for a family was $38,227. Males had a median income of $32,813 versus $22,579 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,290. About 13.7% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.3% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

Meadville in popular culture

Meadville was mentioned in Episode 7 of the 2nd Season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

People from Meadville

• Meghan Allen - adult model; Playboy Cyber Girl of the Month, featured in Women of Fear Factor;
• Henry Baldwin – Supreme Court justice, lone dissenter in the Amistad case;
• Charles Homer Haskins – historian, advisor to President Woodrow Wilson;
• Todd Holland – television and film director and producer
• Lynn Jones – former Major League Baseball player;
• Paul McCandless – jazz woodwind player and composer; founding member of the jazz group, Oregon;
• Raymond P. Shafer – former governor of Pennsylvania;
• Andrew Schwab – author, journalist, and lead singer for the rock band Project 86;
• Michael S. Smith – jazz drummer and percussionist;
• Sharon Stone - Academy Award-nominated actress;
• Jay Tessmer – former Major League Baseball player
• Vicki Van Meter – record-setting child pilot.

External links

• Alfred Huidekoper's 1850 chronology
• Meadville's downtown district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The Crawford County Historical Society
• Greendale Cemetery: Meadville's largest cemetery, containing large amounts of information about Meadville and its history.