Lewistown

Lewistown is a borough in and the county seat of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the principal city of the Lewistown, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. It lies along the Juniata River, 61 miles (98 km) northwest of Harrisburg. The borough was incorporated in 1795 and was named for William "Bill" Lewis, a Quaker and a member of the legislature. The population was 8,561 at the 2020 census. Of the four communities in the U.S. named "LewistOWN", this borough is the largest. The county was one of the busiest centers for cargo and passenger traffic in the United States in the late 19th century. But with the demise of the canal system, the county eventually lost its place as a major transportation hub. Hurricane Agnes June 1972 crippled the local economy. The area suffered extensive flooding from the river and major streams which resulted in the permanent closure of many businesses along the river. The American Viscose Corporation plant, then a division of FMC Corporation, was two major employers in the area at the time of the storm. The plant was only marginally profitable before the storm and cost to reopen was prohibitive. Since then, a variety of businesses and businesses have come and gone in the Miffslin County Industrial Plaza and a number of other nearby towns and cities. The Royal Royal, Royal, and Royal Front Front Front, among other businesses, has moved to another FMC plant in Virginia.

History

Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, was named for William "Bill" Lewis, a Quaker and a member of the legislature. The Pennsylvania Canal and the railroads positioned Mifflin as an economic force in the state. Hurricane Agnes June 1972 crippled the local economy. In 2011 Standard Steel merged with Japanese company Sumitomo Industries and is now known as Nippon Steel; Ford New Holland shuttering its New Holland plant and Belleville Foundry closed its Belleville plant in 2012. The Lewistown polyester plant reopened, but it reired only a fraction of the previous workforce. The county's industries began a slow decline in the early 1970s when the county experienced extensive flooding from the Juniata River and major streams which resulted in the permanent closure of many businesses along the river. In the early 2000s, the loss of Scotty's Fashions, Overhead Door Door and Mann Edge Tool shut its section of its factory in the county's northern section. The town of LewistOWN was founded in 1795 and is the county seat of Mifflins County. It is located near the geographic center of the Commonwealth and was once a hub for traffic moving in every direction in the area. It was one of only five companies recruited in Pennsylvania to share the honor of being the first U.S. troops sent to Washington, D.C. for its defense in the American Civil War. The city's Logan Guards, a militia group originally formed in 1858, were originally recruited in the region.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²), all of it land. The town's borders lie along the Juniata River. The source of the borough's city water comes from the Laurel Creek Reservoir, which is located in Seven Mountains going towards State College. The borough is located on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which connects to New Jersey and New York City by the Susquehannock River. It has a population of 2,068. The population of State College, Pennsylvania, has been at 1,856 since the early 1900s. It is the state's second largest city, after New Jersey. It was the site of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and 1970s. The city's name is derived from the French town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which means "peaceful town" in French. It also means "home of the saints" or "holy house" in English. The name of the town's borough is "Sylvania", which is a contraction of "sylvian" and "slovenly" meaning "soul". It is also the name of a region of New Jersey that was once part of the state, and is now part of Pennsylvania. Its name is also used as the name for the state of Pennsylvania, where it was once a part of New York.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 8,338 people, 3,742 households, and 2,030 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,138.7 people per square mile (1,598.0/km²). There were 4,345 housing units at an average density of 2,156.7 per squaremile (832.7/ km²) The racial makeup of the borough was 95.2% White, 1.5% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American,0.9% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population. The median income for a household in the Borough was $26,584, and the median incomes for a family was $38,356. The per capita income for the borough is $16,447. About 22.8%. of families and 27.4%. of the residents were below the poverty line, including 47.0%. of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over. The borough is located on the New Jersey Turnpike, which connects to New Jersey and New Jersey via the Raritan River and the Susquehannock River. It is the only borough in New Jersey that is not a member of the New York City metropolitan area. It has a population of about 8,000, making it one of the smallest boroughs in the U.S.

Historical buildings in the Lewistown Borough

The Embassy Theatre, McCoy House, Mifflin County Courthouse, Montgomery Ward Building, and Wollner Building are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Embassy Theatre is located in the Lewistown Borough. The McCoy House is in the town's downtown area. The Montgomery Ward Buildings are in the city's central business district. The Wollnner Building is in a residential area of the town. It is located on the county's eastern edge. It was built in the 19th century as a courthouse for the county court. The building was later converted into a home for the Lewistsown School District in the early 20th century. It has since been converted into an apartment complex. The embassy theatre is located at the center of the borough's historic district, near the town center. The town's town hall is also in the borough, at the corner of Main Street and Main Street. The Town Hall is on the County Court House Road, which was built as a county courthouse in the 1880s. The U.S. Post Office is also on the Town Hall Road, just south of the Town Center, and is located to the east of the courthouse. The courthouse was built to serve as a post office in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when the town was still part of the county. In the early 1930s, it was moved to the Town of LewistOWN, and it is still there today. The Borough's first post office was established in 1838.

Sports

Lewistown has a passion for sports. High school sports include baseball, basketball, and wrestling. Youth sports spark rivalries between the smaller communities that surround Lewistown. Mifflin County High School will bear the nickname of "Huskies" and sport purple, silver and black as its colors.Auto racing, sprint car racing along with wrestling are popular as well as outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing. The town is located near the city of Baltimore, but is closer to State College, Pennsylvania, where the Penn State Nittany Lions play their college games. The "Old Iron Kettle" is a black Kettle trophy that was awarded to the winner of the annual football game between LewistOWN and its rival school Chief Logan until its closing in 1989. The game was won by Indian Valley for the fifth consecutive year in October 2010. The schools subsequently merged to become the Mifflins High School Huskies. The school district will compete at the PIAA District 6, Class AAAA level but compete in the Mid-Penn Conference due to a lack of AAAA schools in District 6. It will be the second time the school district chose to create a single high school for the county. The first attempt at a combined high school only lasted for three years in the 1970s before district officials broke up the school due to public pressure. The school will play in the Class AAA level but not the Class A level due to declining enrollment and lack of revenues from the state level.

Transportation

Lewistown (Amtrak station) is home to the town's only Amtrak station. The town is also home to Greyhound and Fullington Trailways. Lewistown is located on the Ohio River, which runs through the town. It is also the site of the city's only Greyhound station, which is on the river's eastern edge. The city is also known for its horseback riding and other transportation services. It has a population of about 2,000 people, including 1,000 horses and 3,000 cattle. It also has one of the largest rail lines in the U.S., running from New York to Chicago. It was built in the early 1900s, and is now home to Amtrak and Greyhound Lines. It's also the home of Greyhound Bus Company, which was founded in 1868. The station is located near the town of Lewistow, where the first Greyhound train arrived in 1869. It opened its first station in the town in 1875. It closed its doors in 1881, and was later converted to a bus station in 1883. It still has a station today, as well as a number of other rail lines, including Amtrak, Greyhound, and a local bus company, the Fayetteville-based Foursquare Railway.

Education

The Borough of Lewistown is served by the Mifflin County School District. It is also home to the only local Catholic Elementary school, Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Pennsylvania State Fire Academy is the only such facility in the state. Volunteer firefighters have strong allegiance to the multiple independent fire companies in the borough to which they devote their time. The borough is home to a number of charities, including the Lewistown Firefighters' Association and the Pennsylvania Firefighters' Benevolent Association. The Borough is a member of the Pennsylvania Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the National Council of Girl Scouts of the United States. The Borough is home to one of the largest fire departments in the country, with more than 1,000 firefighters. It also has the only Catholic elementary school, which educates children of any religion in grades K5 to K12. The town is also the home of the only state fire academy, which is the only such facility in the state of Pennsylvania. It has a population of about 2,000 people, with the majority of its residents living in the Borough and its surrounding rural areas. The city is located on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which connects to Philadelphia by a series of small roads. It was the site of the first train station, built in 1858, and has since been the location of several other railroads, including Pennsylvania's oldest, Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Railways. The township is also known as the birthplace of William Penn, who was born and raised in the town.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania = 86. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 86. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 51. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Lewistown = 3.9 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 8,561 individuals with a median age of 40.3 age the population dropped by -3.84% in Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 4,226.11 residents per square mile of area (1,631.44/km²). There are average 2.16 people per household in the 3,760 households with an average household income of $24,100 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.70% of the available work force and has dropped -4.31% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 20.68%. The number of physicians in Lewistown per 100,000 population = 139.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Lewistown = 39.1 inches and the annual snowfall = 26 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 123. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 188. 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 19.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 47, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania which are owned by the occupant = 41.98%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 12.4 years with median home cost = $85,040 and home appreciation of -1.81%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $14.17 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,177 per student. There are 14.3 students for each teacher in the school, 847 students for each Librarian and 593 students for each Counselor. 4.39% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 5.99% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 3.29% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).