Coatesville, Pennsylvania
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Template:Geobox Coatesville is the only city in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,838 at the 2000 census.
Coatesville grew up around the Lukens Steel Company. Lukens was bought by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in 1997. In 2002, Bethlehem was bought by the then Ohio-based International Steel Group (ISG). Later, Mittal Steel bought ISG and then merged with Arcelor Steel to form the ArcelorMittal company.
History
The first known settlement in the area which would be known as Coatesville was an Native American settlement built along the Brandywine River. This settlement was a trading post for furs to the earliest American settlers.
William Fleming, originally from Scotland, was one of the earliest landowners on record. He built a log cabin in the area of Harmony Street and 5th Avenue and owned about 207-acres of land bordering the Brandywine River.
Moses Coates, a prosperous farmer and the namesake of Coatesville, bought the Fleming house from William's son in 1787. Moses Coates' son-in-law, Jesse Kersey, came up with a plan to develop the area by selling frontage on the recently completed Lancaster Turnpike. The Lancaster Turnpike was the first toll road in the U.S., authorized in 1792 and completed in 1795. There was a tollgate located within the present day Coatesville city limits.[1] Coatesville became a popular stopping point since it was located roughly half way between Philadelphia and Lancaster on the Turnpike.
Another one of the earliest settlers in the Coatesville region was named Pierre Bizallion. We was a French fur trader who settled in the area in the early 1700s, and was said to have been an interpreter between William Penn and the Native Americans. The Veterans Administration Hospital now sits on a piece of the roughly 500 acres of land that was once owned by Pierre.
Before Coatesville became the only city in Chester County, it was a town called Bridge-Town, because of the two bridges that were used to cross the Brandywine River. A village named "Midway", named after its station owned by the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad midway between Philadelphia and Lancaster, was also formed in 1834[2] on the western bank of the Brandywine. The village of Midway and the village of Bridge-Town merged to become the Borough of Coatesville in 1867, after the completion of the Civil War. Coatesville finally became a city in 1915.
Because the Brandywine River runs through the city, Coatesville was able to capitalize on the energy produced by the river and became a manufacturing community. Many different iron and steel mills grew and prospered along the river, however the most famous and successful of them was Lukens Steel. Lukens Steel was operated by the first woman in charge of running a major company, Rebecca Pennock Lukens. As Lukens Steel grew so did Coatesville, eventually becoming known as the "Pittsburgh of the East." By the beginning of the 20th century the population had grown to 6,000. Along with the growth, the school system expanded as well as the religious community. In 1932 Coatesville was the home to 22 churches. Lukens Steel was the largest employer in Chester County in the 1960s, with over 10,000 workers. After World War II the steel industry began a long decline and Lukens Steel was eventually sold, forcing workplace reductions from 5,000 then to 2,000.[3]
Coatesville recently began an ambitious redevelopment project which include tearing down abandoned and dangerous public housing, building new single family and townhouse developments, a regional recreation center, and most recently, mixed use projects that would include retail, office, and condominium housing, as well as the renovation of the local Amtrak station which has fallen into disrepair.
The redevelopment plans have not been without controversy[4], including a five-year eminent domain dispute with a local landowner in neighboring Valley Township. It has been resolved without the need to seize the property, but it caused the ouster of four incumbent City Councilpersons in the November 2005 general elections. The four new councilpersons, two of whom are ordained Pentecostal and Methodist ministers, caused further controversy with the firing of the city solicitor, the resignation of the city manager (who negotiated with the Valley Township landowner), and the departure of the assistant manager, police chief, and city treasurer.
In 1911, the lynching in Coatesville of Zachariah Walker, a black man who killed a white mill policeman Edgar Rice, prompted the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to investigate and called for an end to lynching nationwide. The lynching was the last in Pennsylvania and is said to have left a stain on the City's image.[5]
A series of arsons took place in the city from 2008 to 2009. [6] During the year of 2008-2009, the city of Coatesville suffered from 26 arson fires. In the fires there was only one death; Irene Kempest, an 83 year old woman and a survivor of a World War II German work camp, was killed when her Stode Ave. home was set on fire on December 7, 2008. The fires also caused an estimated $3.5 million in property damage, and left dozens of Coatesville residents homeless. [7]
In 1969 Lukens Steel forged steel beams for the World Trade Center in New York City, NY. [8] Some of these beams, known as "trees", remained standing after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks. Ten of the "trees" that remained were transported back to Coatesville on April 15, 2010 and are slated to be a part of the proposed National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum. [9]
Transportation
A general aviation airport, Chester County G. O. Carlson Airport, which allows private and corporate aircraft to easily access the town, is located about 3 miles west in neighboring Valley Township,
Coatesville is also served by the Coatesville Amtrak Station, which until 1997 also served the SEPTA R5 regional railroad line from Philadelphia and Doylestown.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.8 km²), of which, 1.9 square miles (4.8 km²) of it is land and 0.53% is water.
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 14,582 | — | |
| 1940 | 14,006 | −4.0% | |
| 1950 | 13,826 | −1.3% | |
| 1960 | 12,971 | −6.2% | |
| 1970 | 12,331 | −4.9% | |
| 1980 | 10,698 | −13.2% | |
| 1990 | 11,038 | 3.2% | |
| 2000 | 10,838 | −1.8% |
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 10,838 people, 3,940 households, and 2,580 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,848.8 people per square mile (2,261.9/km²). There were 4,360 housing units at an average density of 2,352.9/sq mi (909.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 41.91% White, 49.15% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.60% from other races, and 3.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.75% of the population.
There were 3,940 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.7% were married couples living together, 28.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.33.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.7% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,912, and the median income for a family was $36,375. Males had a median income of $31,782 versus $24,774 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,079. About 18.3% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.9% of those under age 18 and 15.9% of those age 65 or over.
Coatesville had 4,360 housing units, of which 90.37% were occupied. Of the occupied housing units, over 45% were owner-occupied.
