Plum, Pennsylvania

For the township in Venango County, see Plum Township, Pennsylvania.
Plum
Borough
Oakmont Country Club
National Register of Historic Places

Location in Allegheny County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
Coordinates: 40°29′55″N 79°45′16″W / 40.49861°N 79.75444°W / 40.49861; -79.75444Coordinates: 40°29′55″N 79°45′16″W / 40.49861°N 79.75444°W / 40.49861; -79.75444
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Allegheny
Founded as Plum Township 1788
Area[1]
 • Total 28.96 sq mi (75.01 km2)
 • Land 28.58 sq mi (74.03 km2)
 • Water 0.38 sq mi (0.98 km2)  1.34%
Population (2010)
 • Total 27,126
 • Estimate (2016)[2] 27,399
 • Density 958.58/sq mi (370.10/km2)
FIPS code 42-61536
Website http://www.plumboro.com/

Plum is a borough in Allegheny County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it is located northeast of the city of Pittsburgh, in what is commonly referred to as the East Hills suburbs. The population was 27,126 at the 2010 census.[3]

Plum is often referred to as "Plum Boro" or more correctly "Plum Borough" by locals to distinguish it from its previous status as a township. It was founded as Plum Township in 1788 and was reorganized as a borough in 1956. The borough took its name from nearby Plum Creek.[4]

History

Plum Township was founded on December 18, 1788 as one of the original seven townships of Allegheny County. It originally extended as far south as Versailles (modern-day North Versailles Township), east to the county line, west to Pitt Township, and north to the Allegheny River. Plum has shrunk greatly over the years in area, but still remains among the larger municipalities in Allegheny County.[5]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 29.0 square miles (75 km2), of which 28.6 square miles (74 km2) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2), or 1.34%, is water. Plum Borough is the second largest borough (area-wise) in the state of Pennsylvania.[6]

Streams

Surrounding communities

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.%±
196010,241—
197021,932114.2%
198025,39015.8%
199025,6090.9%
200026,9405.2%
201027,1260.7%
Est. 201627,399[2]1.0%
Sources:[9][10][11][12]

As of the census[11] of 2010, there were 27,126 people, 10,528 households, and 7,431 families residing in the borough. The population density was 935.4 people per square mile. There were 10,528 housing units at an average density of 363.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 93.9% White, 3.6% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.9% of the population.

There were 10,528 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together and 29.4% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 20, 2.5% from 20 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $66,680, and the median income for a family was $74,941. Males had a median income of $54,119 versus $40,625 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $30,474. About 3.8% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government and Politics

Boroughs in Pennsylvania (including Plum) are governed by a Mayor-Council system; in which the mayor has only a few powers and the council is the main legislative body.[13] As of January 2018, the mayor is Harry Schlegel[14] The primary political party in Plum Borough is Republican.

Presidential Elections Results[15][16]
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2016 58% 8,224 41% 5,379 1% 121
2012 57% 7,723 42% 5,633 1% 119

Education

The Plum Borough School District serves the borough grades K–12. The elementary schools (grades K–6) are Center, Holiday Park, Regency Park, and Pivik. A.E. OBlock Junior High School serves grades 7–8 and Plum Senior High School serves grades 9–12. There were once two other elementary schools, one called Renton Elementary School, and the other called Adlai E. Stevenson, both have since been torn down. Adlai is currently (as of the 2012-13 school year) being replaced with a new building which will be a replacement for Holiday Park Elementary, the original of which will then close. During construction, students who formerly went to Adlai were sent to the old Pivik Elementary location, which [Pivik] moved to a new location for the 2011-2012 school year. Once the new Holiday Park opens in Fall 2015, students who would have attended the old Holiday Park and former Adlai will attend it. Current enrollment figure totals for the 2014/15 school year for all k-12 are 3890. The current school board said they would build a new school for the Regency kids but voted no to the act 34 so they are in the old Holiday Park. As of 2016, Recency has been torn down.

Plum Borough is also serviced by the Plum Borough Community Library. The library houses the history room of the Allegheny Foothills Historical Society (the Historical Society also provides tours of the reconstructed Carpenter Family Log House in Boyce Park).

Landmarks

  • Oakmont Country Club is wholly located within Plum's borders, according to Google Maps. The course has been consistently ranked as one of the five best by Golf Digest 100 Greatest Golf Courses in America. In 2007, Oakmont placed 5th by the magazine.[17] It is one of only a few courses ranked every year in the top ten of the publication's history. The top 50 toughest courses ranks Oakmont also at #5,[18] while GolfLink.com ranks it at #3 overall.[19] It hosted its ninth U.S. Open in 2016, the most of any course.
  • The portion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike from mile markers 49 through 55 crosses through Plum.[20]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Aug 13, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), Plum borough, Pennsylvania". U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder 2. Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  4. ↑ Porter, Thomas J. Jr. (May 10, 1984). "Town names carry a little bit of history". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Images of America: Plum Borough" Frank Kordalski, Jr. (Arcadia Publishing: 2011).
  6. ↑ "About the Borough of Plum | Plum PA". www.plumboro.com. 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  7. ↑ "Pucketa Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  8. ↑ "Plum Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
  9. ↑ "Number of Inhabitants: Pennsylvania" (PDF). 18th Census of the United States. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "Pennsylvania: Population and Housing Unit Counts" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  11. 1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  12. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  13. ↑ "What is the "Mayor/Council" system? | Plum PA". www.plumboro.com. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  14. ↑ Tribune-Review. "Page Not Found". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  15. ↑ EL. "2012 Allegheny County election". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  16. ↑ EL. "2016 Pennsylvani general election..." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  17. ↑ "America's 100 Greatest Courses". Golf Digest. May 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  18. ↑ "America's 50 Toughest Golf Courses". Golf Digest. March 2007. Archived from the original on 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  19. ↑ "Top 100 United States Golf Courses". Golf Link. 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  20. ↑ "About Unity Volunteer Fire Department". 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
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