Fairchance, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Fairchance is a borough in Fayette County
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, 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...

. The population was 2,174 at the 2000 census. It is served by the Albert Gallatin Area School District
Albert Gallatin Area School District
The Albert Gallatin Area School District is a school district located in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It is named after Albert Gallatin former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, planner of the Lewis and Clark expedition, engineer of the financial details of the Louisiana Purchase, and founder of New...

.

Geography

Fairchance is located at 39°49′26"N 79°45′17"W (39.823970, -79.754800).

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 1.2 square miles (3.1 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 2,174 people, 871 households, and 594 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 1,797.1 people per square mile (693.7/km²). There were 932 housing units at an average density of 770.4 per square mile (297.4/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.81% White, 2.76% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.09% Asian, and 1.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.51% of the population.

There were 871 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% 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, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% 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 3.00.

In the borough the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $26,840, and the median income for a family was $33,611. Males had a median income of $27,625 versus $20,750 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 $14,021. About 12.0% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Name

According to many townspeople, in the early days of transportation if you made it from Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...

 to the borough by 4:00 P.M. you had a "fair chance" of making it to Uniontown
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...

before sundown. Another version from Ellis' "History of Fayette County" states that one Fidelus Oliphant, who operated iron furnaces in the area, went to a bank in Uniontown to borrow money with the assurance that he had a "fair chance" of paying it back.
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