New Wilmington is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

in Lawrence County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States, first

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ted in 1824 and established as a borough on April 9, 1863. The population was 2,097 at the 2020 census. It is home to Westminster College and serves the

Old Order Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsace, Alsatian origins. They are close ...

community in the surrounding Wilmington Township. It is part of the New Castle micropolitan area.

History

The town of New Wilmington was established in 1797–1798. In 1824 the first house was built and other buildings were soon erected. In 1847 an Amish settlement was established between New Wilmington and Volant. On April 4, 1863, New Wilmington was established as a half-Borough, and on April 9, 1873, it was made a full Borough. The population in 1874 was 500. As of the 2000 census, the population has grown to 2,452, which includes 1,315 residents and 1,137 college students. A book on the complete history of New Wilmington was penned in 1999, which may be viewed at the Westminster College Library. The book includes 12 chapters of history, starting in 1797 and has over 100 photographs. In the fall of 2014, community members led by mayor Sherie Babb, formed the New Wilmington Economic Development Committee. This group was established to encourage not only economic health, but a variety of betterment initiatives around the town. In January 2016, ''LIVE New Wilmington'', a promotional campaign developed and supported by the New Wilmington Economic Development Committee (EDCOM), was officially launched. The goal of this project is to promote connection and celebration as the residents join in a community that is a hub for artists and quality education, picturesque environment, and caring neighbors. Because of this, the group has chosen to focus on these areas (arts, education, environment, people) as the pillars for nurturing and fostering growth. It is believed that these qualities are unique to the community, deserve to be recognized, and should be given a larger platform for actualization.

Geography

New Wilmington is located at (41.120713, -80.332807). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.85%, is water. New Wilmington's ZIP code is 16142.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 2,452 people, 577 households, and 324 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 2,313.2 people per square mile (893.1/km²). There were 611 housing units at an average density of 576.4 per square mile (222.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.21%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.57%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.24% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.33% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 0.45% of the population. 26.0% were of German, 12.6%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, 11.8%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 9.1%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and 7.3% Scotch-Irish ancestry according to

Census 2000 The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

. 97.9% spoke

and 1.2%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

as their first language. There were 577 households, out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.8% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.90. In the borough the population was spread out, with 10.4% under the age of 18, 48.5% from 18 to 24, 12.1% from 25 to 44, 12.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 61.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 58.1 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $36,734, and the median income for a family was $56,736. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $26,125 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the borough was $12,749. About 4.2% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over. New Wilmington is surrounded by farms of an Amish settlement which had 19 congregations i.e. about 2,500 people in 2013.

References

External links

* {{authority control Populated places established in 1824 Boroughs in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania 1863 establishments in Pennsylvania