North Versailles, Pennsylvania - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

North Versailles is a first class township

Township (Pennsylvania)

A township in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a state of the United States of America, is one of four types of municipalities in the state . Townships were established based on convenient geographical boundaries and vary in size from six to forty square miles...

in Allegheny County

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...

, 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 10,229 at the 2010 census.

History

North Versailles Township was formed September 18, 1869, by a division of (the original) Versailles Township into North and South Versailles

South Versailles Township, Pennsylvania

South Versailles Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 351 at the 2010 census. Early in its history, South Versailles contained three villages known as Coulter[ville], Emblem, and Osceola.-Geography:...

townships. Versailles Township was one of the original seven townships of Allegheny County formed in 1788 from Westmoreland County

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 369,993 people, 149,813 households, and 104,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 361 people per square mile . There were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile...

. Additionally, the land which encompasses the present day North Versailles Township was disputed territory between Pennsylvania and Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, which claimed the area as part of Yohogania County

Yohogania County

Yohogania County was created by the new state of Virginia in 1776, in an area long disputed between Virginia and Pennsylvania. The county ceased to exist after the border dispute between the two states was resolved in the 1780s...

of the District of West Augusta

District of West Augusta

The District of West Augusta was a short-lived historical region of Colonial Virginia that encompassed much of what is now northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania.-History:...

.

The territory designated in 1788 as Versailles Township now contains the townships of North Versailles and South Versailles

South Versailles Township, Pennsylvania

; the boroughs of White Oak

White Oak, Pennsylvania

White Oak is a suburban Pittsburgh borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,862 at the 2010 census.The borough's motto is "Come Grow With Us."-Geography:White Oak is located at ....

, East McKeesport

East McKeesport, Pennsylvania

East McKeesport is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 2,126 at the 2010 census.-Geography:East McKeesport is located at ....

, Wall

Wall, Pennsylvania

Wall is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 580 at the 2010 census.-History:Wall is located at the site of a farm purchased by James Walls in 1829. The property, on the south bank of Turtle Creek, was passed to James' sons Henry and John Walls, who lived...

, Versailles

Versailles, Pennsylvania

Versailles is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,515 at the 2010 census. Despite being named after the extraordinary Palace of Versailles, the name of the borough is almost universally pronounced ver-sales by residents of the area.-Geography:Versailles...

, and portions of Wilmerding

Wilmerding, Pennsylvania

Wilmerding is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,190 at the 2010 census. It is located southeast of Pittsburgh. At the start of the twentieth century, it had extensive foundries and machine shops of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. In 1900, the...

and Trafford

Trafford, Pennsylvania

Trafford is a borough in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania, the borough lies primarily in Westmoreland County; only a small portion extends into Allegheny County...

; as well as the major portion (excluding 10th ward) of the city of McKeesport

McKeesport, Pennsylvania

McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in the United States; it is located at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 19,731 at the 2010 census...

.

North Versailles was further divided with the formation of the boroughs of East McKeesport

East McKeesport, Pennsylvania

(1893), Wall

Wall, Pennsylvania

(1904), and portions of the boroughs of Wilmerding

Wilmerding, Pennsylvania

(1890) and Trafford

Trafford, Pennsylvania

(1904). The section of Wilmerding

Wilmerding, Pennsylvania

on the north side of Turtle Creek

Turtle Creek Watershed

According to the Turtle Creek Watershed Association, "The Turtle Creek watershed is situated in western Westmoreland County and eastern Allegheny County in southwestern Pennsylvania. Sixty-six percent of the watershed is situated in Westmoreland County, 34 percent in Allegheny County...

was originally part of the former Patton Township, and the majority of Trafford

Trafford, Pennsylvania

is situated in Westmoreland County

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

. An area of North Versailles (Allequippa Grove, later known as North McKeesport and Highland Grove) was annexed by the city of McKeesport

McKeesport, Pennsylvania

.

Early villages and population centers in North Versailles included Port Perry, Saltsburgh and Allequippa Grove along the Monongahela River

Monongahela River

The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...

; Pleasant Hill near to what is now East McKeesport

East McKeesport, Pennsylvania

; Point Pleasant located near the present intersections of Route 30 and McKee and Naser roads; and Stewart's Station, Spring Hill, Mosside Station, Wall Station, and Wilmerding Station along Turtle Creek, a tributary of the Monongahela River.

North Versailles has a number of named neighborhoods, including the following which roughly correspond to the township's seven wards:

Ward 1: Park Terrace
Ward 2: Arlington
Ward 3: Sunset and South Wilmerding
Ward 4: Green Valley and Fite Station
Ward 5: West Wilmerding
Ward 6: Dixon Hollow and Oak Hill
Ward 7: Crestas Terrace

At one time, North Versailles was served by eight volunteer fire department

Volunteer fire department

See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...

s. Each ward was served by one department, with the exception of Ward 3, which had both the Sunset and South Wilmerding VFDs. Ward 4 and 6's fire departments were the Green Valley VFD and Dixon VFD respectively.

Currently, two fire departments serve the township. Crestas VFD (with one station) serves Crestas Terrace and West Wilmerding. The remaining five wards of the township are served by the Fire Department of North Versailles (FDNV) with three stations. The stations are respectively the former Sunset-Central VFD, Green Valley VFD, and Dixon Hollow VFD.

The North Versailles Township Police department also patrols the borough of Wilmerding

Wilmerding, Pennsylvania

Schools

North Versailles, East McKeesport

East McKeesport, Pennsylvania

, Wilmerding

Wilmerding, Pennsylvania

, and Wall

Wall, Pennsylvania

consolidated school systems in the early 1960s to form the East Allegheny School District

East Allegheny School District

The East Allegheny School District is a midsized, suburban, public school district covering the Boroughs of East McKeesport, Wall and Wilmerding and North Versailles Township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The East Allegheny School District encompasses approximately 5 square miles. According...

. East Allegheny High School (the Wildcats – 1969) is situated off Route 48 (Jack's Run Road) near the intersection of U.S. Route 30. Green Valley School (1955) is the only surviving school of the former North Versailles School District which included (but is not limited to) the following other schools during the township's history:

Port Perry School
Saltsburg(h) School
Bowman School
Pleasant Hills School
Spring Hill School
Kincaid School
Point Pleasant School
Oak Hill School
North McKeesport School
Arlington School
Sunset School
South Wilmerding School
Dixon Avenue School
Crestas School
Keith School
West Wilmerding School
Park Terrace Junior High

Prior to the formation of the East Allegheny School District, North Versailles high school age students were able to choose to go to one of several high schools in other districts including: East McKeesport High School (the Rams), Westinghouse Memorial High School (the Wildcats), Turtle Creek High School (the Creekers), McKeesport Area High School (the Tigers), and East Pittsburgh High School (the Shamrocks).

At the formation of the East Allegheny School District (known as Westinghouse Valley Area Schools from 1962 to 1966), Westinghouse Memorial High School became the district's official high school until the building of East Allegheny High School in 1969. The former East McKeesport High School was transformed into a Junior High serving East McKeesport

East McKeesport, Pennsylvania

, Wilmerding

Wilmerding, Pennsylvania

, Wall

Wall, Pennsylvania

and certain portions of North Versailles near East McKeesport

East McKeesport, Pennsylvania

. Park Terrace Junior High (1955—the Bobcats) served the township. During the 1968–69 school year, Park Terrace was designated a middle school serving all seventh and eighth graders in the district and East McKeesport served only 9th grade students for this one year; it would serve other populations until its closure in 1982. Neither school building exists today.

The North Versailles Police Department currently staffs police officers in East Allegheny High School and Logan Middle School.

Geography

North Versailles is located at 40°22′49"N 79°48′37"W (40.380219, -79.810178).

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 township has a total area of 8.3 mi2, of which 8.1 mi2 is land and 0.2 mi2, or 1.93%, is water.

North Versailles is bordered by the Monongahela River

Monongahela River

The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...

to the west, Turtle Creek to the west and north, North Huntingdon

North Huntingdon Township, Pennsylvania

North Huntingdon Township is a township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 30,609 at the 2010 census.-History:Named after England’s Earl of Huntingdon, Huntingdon Township was founded on April 6, 1772 in Pennsylvania....

and Westmoreland County

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

to the east, and the city of McKeesport

McKeesport, Pennsylvania

and the borough of White Oak

White Oak, Pennsylvania

to the south. The township surrounds East McKeesport

East McKeesport, Pennsylvania

, Wilmerding

Wilmerding, Pennsylvania

, and Wall

Wall, Pennsylvania

.

The Lincoln Highway

Lincoln Highway

The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...

, US Route 30, traverses North Versailles and on its western border crosses the Turtle Creek valley via the George Westinghouse Bridge

George Westinghouse Bridge

George Westinghouse Memorial Bridge in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania carries U.S. Route 30, The Lincoln Highway, over the Turtle Creek Valley where it joins the Monongahela River Valley east of Pittsburgh....

into East Pittsburgh

East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

East Pittsburgh is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, about southeast of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers at Pittsburgh. The population in 1900 stood at 2,883, and in 1910, at 5,615. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 1,822, having fallen from...

.

Other highways in the township include PA 48

Pennsylvania Route 48

Pennsylvania Route 48 is long state highway located in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. The route is predominantly a two-lane highway as it runs through McKeesport and other suburbs. The entire routing of PA 48 is part of the Orange Belt, both reaching their southern terminus at Pennsylvania...

(Jack's Run Road/Mosside Boulevard—the Orange Belt) and PA 148

Pennsylvania Route 148

Pennsylvania Route 148 is an long, north–south state highway located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at PA 48 in Versailles...

(Fifth Avenue Extension—the Yellow Belt). In addition to Routes 48 and 148, Greensburg Pike Section 2 and the East Pittsburgh McKeesport Boulevard provide access to the Tri Boro Expressway.

Topographic map of North Versailles and surrounding area

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 11,125 people, 4,933 households, and 3,102 families residing in the township. 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 1,371.9 people per square mile (529.6/km²). There were 5,227 housing units at an average density of 644.6/sq mi (248.8/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 87.81% White, 9.77% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.22% 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 1.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.49% of the population.

There were 4,933 households out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% 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, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the township the population was spread out with 19.9% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $30,617, and the median income for a family was $38,145. Males had a median income of $31,389 versus $25,451 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 township was $16,991. About 8.5% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.4% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

Comedian Donna Jean Young, whose career was built upon her material related to East McKeesport

East McKeesport, Pennsylvania

and "Woolmerding" (as she pronounced and spelled Wilmerding

Wilmerding, Pennsylvania

in her act), was a resident of Broadway Extension, Arlington Plan, North Versailles Township. In her youth, portions of North Versailles used East McKeesport as a postal address and were long associated with this community. Young was briefly a cast member on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. In 1968, she released an album on Epic Records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

, Live From East McKeesport.

Noted jazz drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts (Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...

and numerous others) is a 1977 graduate of East Allegheny High School.

Gordon Jones, a 1975 graduate of East Allegheny High School, was an All-American wide receiver at the University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

and went on to play in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams.

Another native of the region is Joe Zewe, who was featured on FIFA 2008 playing for Viborg FF, a Danish professional soccer team. David Loya, also from this region, is the all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns at Duquesne University. Loya was also elected into the Duquesne University hall of fame in late 2008.

Patricia Welesko Garland, a 1979 graduate of East Allegheny High School, was named one of 10 Outstanding Young Americans by the U.S. Junior Chamber (Jaycees) in 2000. She is a chemical engineer and program manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Further information

1876 – Atlas of the Cities of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, and the Adjoining Boroughs. Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1876.
1903 – Eastern Vicinity of Pittsburgh. Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1903.
Bureau of Social Research—Federation of Social Agencies of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County and Allegheny Conference on Community Development. Recreational Facilities Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Volume III, Minor Civil Divisions: McKees Rocks to Wilmerding. Pittsburgh: by the author, 1947.
Fleming, George Thornton. History of Pittsburgh & Environs, Volume III. New York: American Historical Society, 1922.
Sokol, John L. (Szarc, John J. ed.) North Versailles 100th Anniversary. North Versailles, PA: by the author, 1970.
Warrantee Atlas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1914.

External links

Maps

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