Coraopolis () is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Allegheny County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the List of counties in Pennsylvania, state's second-most populous county, after Philadelp ...

, United States, along the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. The population was 5,559 at the 2020 census. Coraopolis is located west of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

along the Ohio River and to the east of the Pittsburgh International Airport. The borough has steep topography, numerous brick streets and many large, old houses. Dick's Sporting Goods is headquartered in Coraopolis, as is the American Bridge Company.

History

Early history

On April 3, 1769, Andrew Montour, an Indian interpreter who had provided service to English settlers during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, was granted a land patent for approximately of what would later become the borough of Coraopolis and Neville Island. However, there is no evidence that Montour ever lived on this tract. The first permanent white settler in Coraopolis was Capt. Robert Vance, who settled in the vicinity of Montour's tract around 1773, just prior to the beginning of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Vance, a Virginian, had been a member of the regiment commanded by

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

at the

Braddock expedition The Braddock Expedition, also known as Braddock's Campaign or Braddock's Defeat, was a British Empire, British military expedition which attempted to capture Fort Duquesne from the French colonial empire, French in 1755 during the French and Ind ...

during the

. For the protection of himself and his neighbors, of whom several arrived within a few years, Vance had a log stockade built with a stone blockhouse to protect the area against Indian raids. This was known as Vance Fort (or Fort Vance). The site of the fort was around present-day Broadway and Chestnut streets, near Second Avenue. Over time the community grew and developed, and it became known as Middletown in the 1800s, either because it was situated midway between

and Beaver, Pennsylvania, or perhaps after an early settler named Alexander Middleton who supposedly ran "Middleton's Tavern" in the area. One of the most important early industries in the area was begun by the Watson family, English

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

who arrived in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1830. The Watsons built a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

on the site of the former municipal building on Fifth Avenue. Later, they operated a much larger

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

on the river bank at Mill Street, until 1887.

Founding

The

was incorporated on June 7, 1886. It was previously known as a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

under the name of Middletown, while the post office name was Vancefort. It was established in August 1861, and changed to Coraopolis in March 1886. Legend has it that the borough was named for a member of the Watson family, Cora Watson, who was born on February 2, 1870. However, an old newspaper uncovered by longtime resident and local historian Dr. Frank Braden, Jr. suggests it more likely took the appellation from a Greek word for "maiden city". According to page 7 of the book ''Coraopolis'', by Gia Tatone, Coraopolis Historical Society (2007), "The newspaper r. Frank Braden, Jr. uncoveredwas simply called the ''News'' and was published in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, on June 5, 1897. The newspaper discusses the confusion that was occurring with the post offices in regard to the name Middletown, because several other areas in the state of Pennsylvania shared the same name. With a borough now being established, the Reverend Josiah Dillon, a pioneer clergyman, suggested the name to be changed to Coraopolis. Dillon knew Greek and was also the first burgess (

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

) at the time. So he suggested combining '' Kore'' meaning 'maiden' and '' opolis'' meaning 'city' ('maiden city') to achieve ''Koreopolis''. However, when Greek letters and pronunciation were turned to English, it is said the spelling therefore accidentally got changed." The borough was built on land then owned by James Harvey McCabe and when the borough charter was granted, he was elected first burgess. "and, under his careful and interested administration the departments of the new government and were, in an astonishing short time, working with great lubricity and resulting high efficiency. As he took the lead in the matter of establishing the new form of government, so it was his energetic championing of the projected laying of the tracks of the Pittsburg and Lake Erie through the borough that made that enterprise possible, his active assistance in securing rights of way being an important factor in its success."

Growth to modern day

Community development in Coraopolis moved along gradually with the building of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad in 1877. Several Coraopolis residents were stockholders in this enterprise. Eventually the P&LE spun off the Montour Railroad as a subsidiary to bring coal in from the many mines south of town. Its headquarters and main yard remained in Coraopolis. The Montour at its peak ran 50 miles to Clairton with mines all along the way. The railroad ran until the 1980s, when the coal ran out and it was closed. Its old right of way is now part of the Montour Trail. In 1892, community development took off with the construction of the first high-speed electric street railway in the United States. The railway ran from downtown Pittsburgh through McKees Rocks, Neville Island and Coraopolis to Sewickley. Streetcars ran until 1955. Along with the railway came Consolidated Lamp and Glass Company to Coraopolis, moving from its location in Fostoria, Ohio. Consolidated Glass employed up to 350 people, and was located in Coraopolis from 1895 until 1963. Other Coraopolis residents worked for the new industries established on Neville Island. Shafer Bus Line was headquartered in Coraopolis and served the western part of Allegheny County south of the Ohio River until 1960, when it was bought out by the government agency PennDot, which continues to run buses between Coraopolis, the Airport and downtown Pittsburgh. Standard Steel Spring Company, which was bought out by North American Rockwell Steel Corporation, operated from 1900 until 1960, when it moved to Mishewaka, Indiana. The plant made springs, bumpers and frames for vehicles. It employed 10,000 men working three shifts a day seven days a week. Coraopolis' first municipal building was built in 1897 on State Avenue and was used until 1929, when next building was constructed on Fifth Ave. Coraopolis dedicated a new municipal complex on Fourth Ave in 2017 that houses all municipal departments, including the police and fire stations. Two significant contributions to modern educational practice took place in the area. In 1955, Dr. Harry Houtz published a six-year study in the ''National Education Journal'' demonstrating that phonics was a more effective way of teaching reading, and in 1957, Herbert Snell published his study of performance-based academic tracking in junior high, which became widely adopted. Coraopolis and Neville Township merged their schools to form Cornell School District in 1971, and all students reported to the new Cornell Educational Center in 1976. Coraopolis is the birthplace of actors Michael Keaton and S. William Hinzman. Jerry Gibson, a Negro league baseball player, played here for the Coraopolis Grays. The corporate headquarters for American Bridge Company are located in Corapolis. Coraopolis is experiencing a period of revitalization highlighted by new storefront businesses and façade improvements in the central business district. In 2017, two new brewpubs, a craft distillery, a coffee shop, a restaurant, and several other small businesses opened their doors. Coraopolis also shares a new athletic complex with neighboring Robinson and Moon Townships that will feature soccer, rugby, and lacrosse fields, when completed. The 1896

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

train station is also being restored, and will become a community center and event space once completed.

Geography

Coraopolis is located at (40.515818, -80.162791). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and , or 9.46%, is water.

Surrounding and adjacent communities

Situated along the southern bank of the

, Coraopolis has two land borders, including Moon Township to the south and west and Robinson Township to the southeast. Across the Ohio River's back channel, Coraopolis is connected to Neville Island ( Neville Township) via the Coraopolis Bridge to the northeast and is adjacent to the boroughs of Haysville, Glen Osborne, and Sewickley across the Ohio River's confluence at the northeast end of Neville Island.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 6,131 people, 2,880 households, and 1,552 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 3,119 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 84.96%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 12.43%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.08% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.57% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population. There were 2,880 households, out of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.85. In the borough, the population was spread out, with 19.4% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.7 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $32,321, and the median income for a family was $41,081. Males had a median income of $31,374 versus $25,269 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $17,595. About 6.4% of families and 9.7% 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 ...

, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Coraopolis is a Pennsylvania borough with an elected borough council, elected mayor, and a professional borough manager. It is located within Pennsylvania's Representative District 45, Pennsylvania Senate District 42, and U.S. Congressional District 17.

Notable people

* Bill DeVenzio, professional basketball player. * Dane Jackson, professional football player. * Michael Keaton, actor and director. * John Hufnagel, Canadian Football League, quarterback, coach, general manager, chiefly with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

Gallery

File:ROLINSON 20140703 8483.jpg, The Coraopolis Railroad Station File:CoraopolisMunicipalBuilding.jpg, Former Coraopolis municipal building File:CoraopolisLibrary.jpg, Coraopolis library File:AmericanBridgeCompanyCoraopolis.jpg, A building that is part of the American Bridge Company's headquarters in Coraopolis File:HAER Coraopolis 04 356722pv.jpg, The Coraopolis Bridge File:NevilleIslandBridgePA.jpg, The Neville Island Bridge as viewed from a hill in Coraopolis File:ArmoryCoraopolisPA.jpg, Coraopolis Armory

References

External links

Borough website
{{authority control 1773 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania populated places on the Ohio River Populated places established in 1773