Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Mercersburg is a borough in Franklin County
Franklin County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 129,313 people, 50,633 households, and 36,405 families residing in the county. The population density was 168 people per square mile . There were 53,803 housing units at an average density of 70 per square mile...

, 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...

, 73 miles (117.5 km) southwest of Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

. Originally called Black Town, it was incorporated in 1831. In 1900, 956 people lived here, and in 1910, 1,410 people lived here. The population was 1,540 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Mercersburg is located at 39°49′46"N 77°54′7"W (39.829388, -77.901952).

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 square miles (2.6 km²), all of it land.

Mercersburg is located at the foot of the Appalachian mountains just north of the Mason-Dixon Line
Mason-Dixon line
The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and...

, which serves as the state border with Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

. Whitetail Ski Resort
Whitetail Ski Resort
Whitetail Resort is a four season resort located on Two Top Mountain in the Tuscarora Mountains of Pennsylvania. The resort opened for skiing in 1991, and was acquired a few years later by Snow Time, Inc., the company which also manages Liberty Mountain Resort and Ski Roundtop...

 is located near the town, opens around Thanksgiving for the winter season.

Pennsylvania state highways 16, 75 and 416 all pass through Mercersburg, which is approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) west of Interstate 81
Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania
Interstate 81 is an long north–south Interstate Highway, stretching from Dandridge, Tennessee to Fisher's Landing, New York at the US/Canadian border...

.

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 1,540 people, 686 households, and 439 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 1,581.0 people per square mile (613.0/km²). There were 770 housing units at an average density of 790.5 per square mile (306.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 92.08% White, 6.49% African American, 0.58% Asian, 0.52% 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 0.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population.

There were 686 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% 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, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the borough the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 29.7% 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 39 years. For every 100 females there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $32,619, and the median income for a family was $46,042. Males had a median income of $30,602 versus $23,000 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 $18,934. About 7.2% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Tuscarora School District

The Tuscarora School District
Tuscarora School District
The Tuscarora School District is a public school district located in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses the borough of Mercersburg, as well as the townships of St...

 covers an area of 201 square miles (520.6 km²), stretching north-south from just south of 40 degrees north latitude to the Maryland border and from east of the 78 degree west longitude line to just west of Chambersburg, PA. The District is located within the borders of Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania and includes the Borough of Mercersburg and Montgomery, Peters, St. Thomas and Warren townships. The District is primarily a rural agricultural area with a total population of approximately 17,000 people. The District consists of four K-5 elementary schools (Saint Thomas, Mountain View, Mercersburg, Montgomery), one grade 6-8 middle school (James Buchanan MS) and one grade 9-12 high school (James Buchanan HS). Tuscarora, the name of the mountain on the western boundary, is derived from the Tuscarora Tribe of the Iroquois Confederation. The Tribe came north from the Carolinas about 1713 and settled for a time along the mountains. The name Tuscarora comes from the Indian name Skaruron or hemp gatherers. Conococheague, the name of the creek that flows through the District on its way from the Path Valley south to the Potomac River, is an Indian name from the Delaware Tribe meaning clear water.

Mercersburg Academy

Mercersburg Academy
Mercersburg Academy
Mercersburg Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school for grades 9-12 located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The school's mission is:...

 has a rich athletic tradition that has produced 48 olympians, 9 of whom won gold medals. In the 1980s, Mercersburg had a dominant swimming program, with two of its students, Betsy Mitchell and Melvin Stewart, winning olympic gold. In this period, coach John Trembley led Mercersburg seven times to the National Prep School Championship, and six times to the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming Championship.

More recently, Mercersburg has become known and respected for its Men's Cross Country team. The 2006 season was highlighted by a third place finish at the MAPL (Mid Atlantic Prep League) Championships. Mercersburg runners placed 1st and 2nd overall at the MAPL meet. The team is coached by Betsy Willis.

Marshall College

Marshall College was a college founded in Mercersburg in 1836. It later merged with Franklin College, in Lancaster County
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...

, and produced the so-called Mercersburg Theology
Mercersburg Theology
Mercersburg Theology was a German-American theological movement that began in the mid-19th century. It draws its name from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, home of Marshall College from 1836 until its merger with Franklin College in 1853, and also home to the seminary of the Reformed Church in the...

.

Notable people

  • James Buchanan
    James Buchanan
    James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....

    , the only Pennsylvanian to be elected President of the United States
    President of the United States
    The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

    , was born in a log cabin in the village of Cove Gap
    Cove Gap, Pennsylvania
    Cove Gap is a village in Peters Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Buchanan's Birthplace State Park is located here and honors the 15th US president James Buchanan, who was born in this village on April 23, 1791....

     near Mercersburg and grew up in the town. His log cabin still stands today on the Mercersburg Academy Campus near the athletics building.
  • Academy Award–winning actors Jimmy Stewart
    James Stewart (actor)
    James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...

     and Benicio del Toro
    Benicio del Toro
    Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...

     both attended Mercersburg Academy
    Mercersburg Academy
    Mercersburg Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school for grades 9-12 located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The school's mission is:...

    , as well as John Hamilton
    John Hamilton (actor)
    John Hamilton was an American actor, who appeared in many movies and television programs. He is probably best remembered for his role as the blustery newspaper editor Perry White on the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman.-Biography:Burly, stentorian-voiced John Hamilton was born John...

    , who played Perry White on Adventures of Superman
    Adventures of Superman (TV series)
    Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...

    TV series.
  • Vanessa Branch
    Vanessa Branch
    Vanessa Lynn Branch is a British-American actress and model. She is best known in North America as the Orbit Gum television commercial woman .-Life and career:...

    , actress (the "Orbit Gum Girl")

External links

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