Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Swarthmore is a borough in Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....

, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Swarthmore was originally named Westdale in honor of noted painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 Benjamin West
Benjamin West
Benjamin West, RA was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence...

, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to Swarthmore after the establishment of Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....

. "Swarthmore" can be pronounced with the first "r" either vocalized or dropped due to differences in rhotic and non-rhotic accents
Rhotic and non-rhotic accents
English pronunciation can be divided into two main accent groups: a rhotic speaker pronounces a rhotic consonant in words like hard; a non-rhotic speaker does not...

.

Geography

Swarthmore is located at 39°54′6"N 75°20′49"W (39.901788, -75.347083).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the borough has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 6,170 people, 1,993 households, and 1,347 families residing in the borough. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 4,460.4 people per square mile (1,726.3/km²). There were 2,064 housing units at an average density of 1,492.1 per square mile (577.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 85.87% White, 5.49% Asian, 4.72% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.07% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 2.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.37% of the population.

There were 1,993 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the borough the population was spread out with 20.5% under the age of 18, 24.4% from 18 to 24, 18.9% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $138,653, and the median income for a family was $187,874. Males had a median income of $71,750 versus $51,117 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the borough was $40,482. About 0.5% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Swarthmore lies within the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District
Wallingford-Swarthmore School District
Wallingford-Swarthmore School District is a midsized, suburban public school district in south-eastern Delaware County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It serves the boroughs of Swarthmore, Rose Valley and Rutledge, and the township of Nether Providence...

. According to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 state policy, Swarthmore is considered too small a town to have its own secondary schools. Hence, in 1984 Swarthmore High School
Swarthmore High School
Swarthmore High School was a four-year public high school in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania serving the Boroughs of Swarthmore and Rutledge.Swarthmore established its own independent school district when Swarthmore Borough incorporated in 1893. The Swarthmore and Rutledge School Districts merged in 1955...

 merged with adjacent Nether Providence High School
Nether Providence High School
Nether Providence High School was a four-year public high school in Wallingford, Pennsylvania serving the Township of Nether Providence and the Boroughs of Rose Valley, South Media, Garden City, and sections of Morton. The school became Strath Haven High School when it merged with Swarthmore High...

 to form Strath Haven High School
Strath Haven High School
Strath Haven High School is a four-year public high school in Wallingford, Pennsylvania serving the Township of Nether Providence and the Boroughs of Rose Valley, Rutledge, and Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, as well as the communities of South Media, Garden City, Pennsylvania, and sections of Morton,...

.

Public schools

Grades School
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

Kids' Place
1-5 Nether Providence Elementary School
Swarthmore-Rutledge Elementary School
Wallingford Elementary School
6-8 Strath Haven Middle School
9-12 Strath Haven High School
Strath Haven High School
Strath Haven High School is a four-year public high school in Wallingford, Pennsylvania serving the Township of Nether Providence and the Boroughs of Rose Valley, Rutledge, and Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, as well as the communities of South Media, Garden City, Pennsylvania, and sections of Morton,...


Swarthmore is also home to the Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....

, on whose campus is the Benjamin West House (the home of Benjamin West
Benjamin West
Benjamin West, RA was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence...

), a painter who lived in what is currently known as Swarthmore, but was Springfield
Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Springfield Township, or simply Springfield, is a township and a Census Designated Place in Delaware County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 23,677 at the 2000 census...

 at the time.

Cultural Institutions

Scott Arboretum
Scott Arboretum
Scott Arboretum is an arboretum located across the campus of Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. It is open to the public daily without charge....

 is located on the campus of Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....

.

The Players Club of Swarthmore Theater is located at 614 Fairview Road.http://pcstheater.org/

Transportation

Swarthmore Station
Swarthmore (SEPTA station)
Swarthmore is a station along the SEPTA Media/Elwyn Line, the former Pennsylvania Railroad West Chester Line. It is located on Chester Road between downtown Swarthmore and the edge of the Swarthmore College campus . Dollar-a-day parking and permit parking are available...

, a SEPTA Regional Rail
SEPTA Regional Rail
The SEPTA Regional Rail system consists of commuter rail service on thirteen branches to over 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and its suburbs. Service on most lines runs from 5:30 AM to midnight...

 train station on the Media/Elwyn Line
Media/Elwyn Line
The Media/Elwyn Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line running from Center City Philadelphia west to Elwyn in Delaware County.Originally known as the Media/West Chester Branch, service was truncated on September 19, 1986 from West Chester to its current terminus at Elwyn. Service expansion beyond Elwyn...

, sits between the college and the town's center.

SEPTA Route 109 bus connecting Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...

 with Upper Darby, PA stops along Chester Road.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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