Jenkintown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, ten miles (16 km) north of Philadelphia. "Jenkintown" is also used to describe a number of neighborhoods surrounding the borough, which also are known by names such as Rydal, Jenkintown Manor and Noble. While the post office will deliver "Jenkintown"-addressed mail to these areas, they are not part of the political entity of Jenkintown; they are within Abington Township.
The Jenkintown-Wyncote train station is one of SEPTA's major stops; the R1, R2, R3 and R5 regional rail lines all stop there.
History
The community was named for William Jenkins, settler.[1] The Borough of Jenkintown is located just outside of Philadelphia along the Route 611 corridor between Abington and Cheltenham Townships. The Borough was settled in about 1697 and incorporated on December 8, 1874 when approximately 248 acres (1.00 km2) was taken from Abington Township. Today, the Borough is approximately .58 of a square mile and is home to 4,500 residents.
The Borough is a mostly residential community that is separated into East and West by the Business District that runs along and surrounds Old York Road (Route 611) corridor. On the east side of Old York Road, residential development is predominantly characterized by larger detached single-family homes on lots larger than the Borough average. On the southeast side of York Road, there is a small mixed concentration of row homes, duplexes, and single-family residences. The majority of the residential development, however, is located to the west of York Road. This area consists of a traditional small town mix of detached single-family homes, duplexes, and row homes. Located throughout this area are several multi-family apartment buildings that are residential rental properties. At the center of this residential area are the Jenkintown Elementary School and the Jenkintown High School.
The Jenkintown Fire Department consists of two fire companies founded more than 125 years ago. The Jenkintown Fire Department is a totally volunteer department consisting of the Pioneer Fire Company #1 and the Independent Fire Company #2. The Pioneer Company was organized in 1884 and the Independent Company was organized in 1889. The Fire Department has a total membership of approximately 150 with 50 members comprising the active firefighting crew.
Education
Public Schools
Jenkintown has its own school district with grades from kindergarten to 12th. The mascot of Jenkintown High School is the Drake. The sports teams are known as the Drakes, or the Lady Drakes in the case of all-female teams. The mascot name comes from a pond which was filled in to make way for the football stadium.
Private Schools
These institutions are located in Abington Township, but use Jenkintown addresses:
Geography
Jenkintown borough is located at 40°5′46″N 75°7′46″W / 40.09611°N 75.12944°W / 40.09611; -75.12944 (40.096060, -75.129415).[2] According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.5 km²), all of it land. Pennsylvania Route 611 passes through the center of the borough.
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1930 |
4,797 |
|
—
|
| 1940 |
5,024 |
|
4.7% |
| 1950 |
5,130 |
|
2.1% |
| 1960 |
5,017 |
|
−2.2% |
| 1970 |
5,404 |
|
7.7% |
| 1980 |
4,942 |
|
−8.5% |
| 1990 |
4,574 |
|
−7.4% |
| 2000 |
4,478 |
|
−2.1% |
| www.dvrpc.org/data/databull/rdb/db82/appedixa.xls.</ref> |
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 4,478 people, 2,035 households, and 1,088 families residing in the borough. The population density was 7,844.0 people per square mile (3,033.3/km²). There were 2,085 housing units at an average density of 3,652.2/sq mi (1,412.3/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 93.61% White, 4.00% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.30% of the population.
There were 2,035 households out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.5% were non-families. 40.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the borough the population is spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 78.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.2 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $47,743, and the median income for a family was $72,902. Males had a median income of $41,970 versus $35,625 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $29,834. About 1.9% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
Politics and government
Jenkintown has a city manager form of government with a mayor and a twelve-member borough council. The current mayor is Gregory Wall.
The borough is part of the Thirteenth Congressional District (represented by Rep. Allyson Schwartz), Pennsylvania's 154th Representative District (represented by Rep. Lawrence Curry) and Pennsylvania's 4th Senatorial District (represented by Sen. LeAnna Washington).
References
- ^ "Historic Jenkintown". Jenkintown Community Alliance. http://jenkintown.net/community/historic-jenkintown/. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
