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Plum, Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 40°29′55″N 79°45′16″W / 40.49861°N 79.75444°W / 40.49861; -79.75444
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For the township, see Plum Township, Pennsylvania.
Plum, Pennsylvania
Borough
Oakmont Country Club National Register of Historic Places
Oakmont Country Club
National Register of Historic Places
Location in Allegheny County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
Location in Allegheny County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
Plum is located in Pennsylvania
Plum
Plum
Plum is located in the United States
Plum
Plum
Coordinates: 40°29′55″N 79°45′16″W / 40.49861°N 79.75444°W / 40.49861; -79.75444
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyAllegheny
Founded as Plum Township1788
Area
[1]
 • Total
28.94 sq mi (74.95 km2)
 • Land28.57 sq mi (74.00 km2)
 • Water0.37 sq mi (0.96 km2)  1.34%
Population
 (2020)[2]
 • Total
27,144
 • Density950.09/sq mi (366.83/km2)
School districtPlum Borough
Websitewww.plumboro.com

Plum is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 27,144 at the 2020 census.[3] A suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, it is located northeast of the city in what is commonly referred to as the East Hills suburbs.

Plum is often referred to as "Plum Boro" or more correctly "Plum Borough" by locals to distinguish it from its previous status as a township. It was founded as Plum Township in 1788 and was reorganized as a borough in 1956. The borough took its name from nearby Plum Creek.[4]

History

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Plum Township was founded on December 18, 1788, as one of the original seven townships of Allegheny County. It originally extended as far south as Versailles (modern-day North Versailles Township), east to the county line, west to Pitt Township, and north to the Allegheny River. Plum has shrunk greatly over the years in area, but still remains among the larger municipalities in Allegheny County.[5]

The 1889 history of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, describes the township as having "no villages of importance", but listed the first postoffice, Antrim, 1840–1857; New Texas, a hamlet, in the geographic center of the township with "the usual mechanics, local stores, etc.", post office from 1856; and Logan's Ferry, on the Allegheny River and Allegheny Valley railroad, in the northeastern part of the township, deriving its name from early settler Alexander Logan and family, post office from 1844.[6]

House Explosions

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Plum has a history of house explosions in beginning in 1996 where one person was killed and one person injured, the explosion was caused by failure of gas pipes. Another explosion on March 5, 2008, which killed one and injured one was also caused by failure of gas pipes.[7] On April 22, 2022, an explosion happened which injured five and the cause has yet to be determined.[8][9] An explosion on August 12, 2023, killed six and injured two and the cause is being investigated.[10][11]

Geography

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 29.0 square miles (75 km2), of which 28.6 square miles (74 km2) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2), or 1.34%, is water. Plum Borough is the second largest borough (area-wise) in the state of Pennsylvania.[12]

Streams

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Surrounding communities

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
196010,241—
197021,932114.2%
198025,39015.8%
199025,6090.9%
200026,9405.2%
201027,1260.7%
202027,1440.1%
Sources:[15][16][17][18]

At the 2010 census there were 27,126 people, 10,528 households, and 7,431 families living in the borough. The population density was 935.4 people per square mile. There were 10,528 housing units at an average density of 363.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 93.9% White, 3.6% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.9%.[17]

There were 10,528 households, 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together and 29.4% were non-families. 24.5% of households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.09.

The age distribution was 24.2% under the age of 20, 2.5% from 20 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% 65 or older. The median age was 42.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males.

The median household income was $66,680 and the median family income was $74,941. Males had a median income of $54,119 versus $40,625 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $30,474. About 3.8% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

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Boroughs in Pennsylvania (including Plum) are governed by a Mayor-Council system; in which the mayor has only a few powers and the council is the main legislative body.[19] As of January 2020, the mayor is Harry Schlegel.

Presidential Elections Results[20][21][22]
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2020 54% 9,019 44% 7,406 2% 256
2016 58% 8,224 41% 5,739 1% 121
2012 57% 7,723 42% 5,633 1% 119

Education

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The Plum Borough School District serves the borough grades K–12. The elementary schools (grades K–4) are Center and Pivik. The middle elementary school is Holiday Park Elementary (grades 5–6). The junior high school is A.E. Oblock Junior High School (grades 7–8) and Plum Senior High School serves grades 9–12. The latest redistricting was approved by the Plum School Board in 2018. There were once three other elementary schools, which were called Renton Elementary School, Regency Park Elementary, and the other called Adlai E. Stevenson, both have since been torn down. Plum School District is governed by the Plum School Board.[23]

Plum Borough is also serviced by the Plum Borough Community Library. The library houses the history room of the Allegheny Foothills Historical Society (the Historical Society also provides tours of the reconstructed Carpenter Family Log House in Boyce Park).

Landmarks

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  • Oakmont Country Club is partially located within Plum's borders, according to Google Maps. The course has been consistently ranked as one of the five best by Golf Digest 100 Greatest Golf Courses in America. In 2007, Oakmont placed 5th by the magazine.[24] It is one of only a few courses ranked every year in the top ten of the publication's history. The top 50 toughest courses rank Oakmont also at No. 5,[25] while GolfLink.com ranks it at No. 3 overall.[26] It hosted its ninth U.S. Open in 2016, the most of any course.
  • The portion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike from mile markers 49 through 55 crosses through Plum.[27]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Oct 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "Data Commons". Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  4. ^ Porter, Thomas J. Jr. (May 10, 1984). "Town names carry a little bit of history". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  5. ^ Kordalski, Frank Jr. (May 16, 2011). Plum Borough. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738574332.
  6. ^ Cushing, Thomas (1889). History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. Chicago: A. Warner & Co. p. 129.
  7. ^ Rittmeyer, Brian C. (August 12, 2023). "Plum has history of house explosions". TribLIVE.com.
  8. ^ Stanish, Erika (April 23, 2022). "Plum Borough home explosion not the first in the neighborhood - CBS Pittsburgh". www.cbsnews.com.
  9. ^ "Investigation finds no evidence 2022 Plum house explosion was caused by public utility equipment - CBS Pittsburgh". www.cbsnews.com. September 5, 2023.
  10. ^ https://www.pritzkerlaw.com/personal-injury/2023/plum-pa-house-explosion-4-dead-1-missing/#:~:text=Killed in the blast were,body%2C died on August 16.
  11. ^ "Fatal Plum house explosion originated inside, fire marshal says - CBS Pittsburgh". www.cbsnews.com. September 8, 2023.
  12. ^ "About the Borough of Plum | Plum PA". www.plumboro.com. 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  13. ^ "Pucketa Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  14. ^ "Plum Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
  15. ^ "Number of Inhabitants: Pennsylvania" (PDF). 18th Census of the United States. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  16. ^ "Pennsylvania: Population and Housing Unit Counts" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  17. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  18. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  19. ^ "Plum Boro: Government". Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  20. ^ EL. "2012 Allegheny County election". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  21. ^ EL. "2016 Pennsylvania general election..." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  22. ^ "Election Night Reporting".
  23. ^ Divittorio, Michael (March 2, 2018). "Plum School District reconfiguration options to be narrowed down at committee meeting". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  24. ^ "America's 100 Greatest Courses". Golf Digest. May 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  25. ^ "America's 50 Toughest Golf Courses". Golf Digest. March 2007. Archived from the original on 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  26. ^ "Top 100 United States Golf Courses". Golf Link. 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  27. ^ "About Unity Volunteer Fire Department". 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
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