Editing Crafton, Pennsylvania

{{Short description|Borough in Pennsylvania, US}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
 | name                     = Crafton, Pennsylvania
 | official_name            = 
 | native_name              = 
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 | other_name               = 
 | settlement_type          = [[Borough (Pennsylvania)|Borough]]
 | image_skyline            = CraftonPA.jpg
 | imagesize                = 
 | image_alt                = 
 | image_caption            = Intersection of East Crafton, Noble and Dinsmore Avenues in Crafton, PA.
 | image_flag               = 
 | image_seal               = 
 | seal_size                = 
 | etymology                = 
 | motto                    = 
 | anthem                   = 
 | image_map                = Allegheny County Pennsylvania incorporated and unincorporated areas Crafton highlighted.svg
 | mapsize                  = 260px
 | map_caption              = Location in [[Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|Allegheny County]] and the U.S. state of [[Pennsylvania]].
 | coordinates              = {{coord|40|26|1.93|N|80|4|5.33|W|display=inline,title}}
 | coor_pinpoint            = 
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 | subdivision_type         = Country
 | subdivision_name         = United States
 | subdivision_type1        = State
 | subdivision_name1        = Pennsylvania
 | subdivision_type2        = County
 | subdivision_name2        = [[Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|Allegheny]]
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 | established_title        = Founded
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 | government_type          = Borough 
 | governing_body           = Borough Council
 | leader_party             = 
 | leader_title             = Mayor
 | leader_name              = Coletta Perry
 | leader_title1            = Council President
 | leader_name1             = John Oliverio
 | total_type               = 
 | unit_pref                = Imperial
 | area_footnotes           = <ref>{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/5/query?where=STATE='42'&outFields=NAME,STATE,PLACE,AREALAND,AREAWATER,LSADC,CENTLAT,CENTLON&orderByFields=PLACE&returnGeometry=false&returnTrueCurves=false&f=json|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=October 12, 2022}}</ref>
 | area_total_km2           = 2.96
 | area_total_sq_mi         = 1.14
 | area_land_km2            = 2.96
 | area_land_sq_mi          = 1.14
 | area_water_km2           = 0.00
 | area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
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 | population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
 | population_footnotes     = <ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly"/>
 | population_total         = 6099
 | pop_est_as_of            = 
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 | population_rank          = 
 | population_density_km2   = 2061.41
 | population_density_sq_mi = 5340.63
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 | timezone1                = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
 | utc_offset1              = −5
 | timezone1_DST            = [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]]
 | utc_offset1_DST          = −4
 | timezone2                = 
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 | postal_code_type         = ZIP Code
 | postal_code              = 15205
 | postal2_code_type        = 
 | postal2_code             = 
 | area_code_type           = 
 | area_code                = [[Area code 412|412]], [[Area code 878|878]]
 | geocode                  = 
 | iso_code                 = 
 | blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
 | blank_info               = 42-16848
 | blank1_name              = 
 | blank1_info              = 
 | blank2_name              = 
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 | blank_name_sec2          = 
 | blank_info_sec2          = 
 | blank1_name_sec2         = 
 | blank1_info_sec2         = 
 | blank2_name_sec2         = Wikimedia Commons
 | blank2_info_sec2         = 
 | website                  = [http://www.craftonborough.com Crafton Borough]
 | footnotes                = 
}}

'''Crafton''' is a [[Borough (Pennsylvania)|borough]] in [[Allegheny County, Pennsylvania]], United States, west of downtown [[Pittsburgh]]. The population was 6,099 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://data.census.gov/all?q=Crafton+borough,+Pennsylvania | title=Explore Census Data }}</ref> It is a residential suburb of the [[Pittsburgh metropolitan area]].

==History==
Prior to European colonial usurpation, the area was inhabited and controlled by the [[Seneca people|Seneca Indians]]. It is believed the legendary chief of the Seneca, [[Cornplanter]], called the area ''Killemun''. But even before the Seneca came, the Crafton/Ingram area was inhabited. In her 1993 historical account, local historian and Crafton-native, Betsy Martin, writes that, “[[Tumulus|Burial mounds]] from a much earlier [[Adena culture|pre-Columbian Adena Culture]] were found farther down the [Chartiers] creek toward the ‘Rocks’ in the vicinity of the Fall Hole…”<ref>Martin, Betsy. ''The Story of Crafton: 1740-1992''. The Crafton Historical Society. Crafton, Pennsylvania. 1992.</ref> It is likely Martin is referring to a mound site near the junction of the Creek with the [[Ohio River]], a site which underwent excavations in 1896 by the [[Carnegie Museum of Natural History|Carnegie Museum]]. The excavation unearthed at least 33 burials, all “Early Woodland Adena in affiliation.”<ref>Weed, Carol S. “PREHISTORIC CONTEXT STUDY (CHAPTER THREE) IN SUPPORT OF DATA RECOVERY AT SITE 36AL480, LEETSDALE, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District. 14 October 2004. [https://web.archive.org/web/20201019200441/https://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/Portals/72/docs/Leetsdale%20Archaelology%20Data/Chapter%203%20-%20Prehistoric%20Context.pdf?ver=2017-12-19-132148-817]</ref> The Indians who built the mounds are believed to be [[Algonquin people|Algonquin]]. While there is no way of knowing exactly which mounds Martin is describing, the reality is that such ancient interment mounds and early-indigenous habitation sites were strewn across the entire Chartiers Valley region, including Crafton/Ingram. Throughout the 20th Century, however, most of the sites were destroyed as a result of industrial development and building construction.

For obvious reasons, the [[Chartiers Creek]] was the dominant geographical feature during the premodern era, winding a northwesterly path to its terminus in the Ohio River at [[McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania|McKees Rocks]]. By 1749/1750, The French, under the aegis of King Louis XV, were staking land claims throughout the creek valley and surrounding forested hills and open meadows. George Washington passed through the area for the first time in 1752, along with his guide, Christopher Gist.

Crafton is named after James S. Craft, a frontier [[attorney at law|attorney]] who was granted land near the "forks of the [[Ohio River|Ohio]]" in present-day [[Oakland (Pittsburgh)|Oakland]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.craftonhistoricalsociety.org/walking_tour.htm |title=Crafton Historical Society |access-date=July 8, 2010}}</ref> The sale of this land part financed purchases of land in the [[Chartiers Creek|Chartiers valley]]. Charles Craft, son of James, divided the land into lots on the death of his father and submitted it to the Allegheny County Courthouse as Crafton. Following a period of building, the borough was incorporated on January 8, 1892, with Charles as the first [[Burgess (title)|burgess]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Betsy|year=1992|title=The Story of Crafton: 1740–1992|url=https://historicpittsburgh.org/islandora/object/pitt:31735055766921|publisher=Crafton Historical Society|pages=43–44}}</ref>

Crafton was linked to downtown Pittsburgh by [[tram|trolley]] in 1896. The service ended when the [[Fort Pitt Bridge]] was built without trolley tracks.

==Geography==
Crafton is located at {{coord|40|26|2|N|80|4|5|W|type:city}} (40.433869, -80.068146).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the borough has a total area of {{convert|1.1|sqmi}}, all land.

===Surrounding and adjacent neighborhoods===
Crafton has six land borders, including [[Ingram, Pennsylvania|Ingram]] to the north and the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of [[Crafton Heights (Pittsburgh)|Crafton Heights]] to the northeast, [[Westwood (Pittsburgh)|Westwood]] to the east, [[Oakwood (Pittsburgh)|Oakwood]] and [[East Carnegie (Pittsburgh)|East Carnegie]] to the south, and [[Fairywood (Pittsburgh)|Fairywood]] to the northwest. Across Chartiers Creek, Crafton runs adjacent with [[Thornburg, Pennsylvania|Thornburg]] to the west and [[Rosslyn Farms, Pennsylvania|Rosslyn Farms]] to the southwest.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1900= 1927
|1910= 4583
|1920= 5954
|1930= 7004
|1940= 7163
|1950= 8066
|1960= 8418
|1970= 8233
|1980= 7623
|1990= 7188
|2000= 6706
|2010= 5951
|2020= 6099
|footnote=Sources:<ref>{{cite web|title=Population-Pennsylvania|url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/36894832v3ch4.pdf|work=U.S. Census 1910|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=November 22, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Number and Distribution of Inhabitants:Pennsylvania-Tennessee|url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/03815512v1ch09.pdf|work=Fifteenth Census|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Number of Inhabitants: Pennsylvania|url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/17216604v1p40ch02.pdf|work=18th Census of the United States|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=November 22, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pennsylvania: Population and Housing Unit Counts|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen1990/cph2/cph-2-40.pdf|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=November 22, 2013}}</ref><ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012-3.html|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=November 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602094321/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012-3.html|archive-date=June 2, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly">{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:42&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=October 12, 2022}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[2000 United States census|2000 census]],<ref name="GR2" /> there were 6,706 people, 3,079 households, and 1,613 families residing in the borough. The [[population density]] was {{convert|5,916.0|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people}}. There were 3,344 housing units at an average density of {{convert|2,950.1|/mi2|/km2}}. The racial makeup of the borough was 95.50% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 2.74% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.10% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.60% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.07% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.15% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.84% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.57% of the population.

There were 3,080 households, out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.6% were non-families. 40.2% 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 2.17 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $38,323, and the median income for a family was $52,386. Males had a median income of $38,292 versus $24,497 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the borough was $21,441. About 3.4% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

==Government and politics==
{| class="wikitable" style="left; margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; font-size: 95%;"
|+ Presidential elections results<ref>{{cite web|last1=EL|title=2012 Allegheny County election|url=http://triblive.com/politics/2907065-74/pittsburgh-ward-hills-west-borough-braddock-east-elizabeth-north-park|website=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review|access-date=October 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=EL|title=2016 Pennsylvania general election results|url=http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/electionresultsgen2016/|website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=October 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/PA/Allegheny/106267/web.264614/#/detail/0004 | title=Election Night Reporting }}</ref>
|-
! Year
! [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
! [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
! [[Third party (U.S. politics)|Third parties]]
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[2020 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania|2020]]'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|''36%'' ''1,353''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|''60%'' ''2,232''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|''2%'' ''78''
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[2016 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania|2016]]'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|''37%'' ''1,175''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|''57%'' ''1,810''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|''5%'' ''170''
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[2012 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania|2012]]'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|''41%'' ''1,191''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|''57%'' ''1,677''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|''2%'' ''53''
|}

==Notable people==
* [[Bill Cowher]] (born 1957), former [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] head coach and current NFL analyst. Cowher is a native of Crafton and attended [[Carlynton High School]].
* [[Alpha L. Bowser]] (1910–2003), United States Marine Corps lieutenant general. He was a combat veteran of World War II and the Korean War — decorated for his actions during the Battle of Iwo Jima and in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
* [[Paul Shannon]] (1909–1990), legendary Pittsburgh radio and television host.

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed heights=150px>
File:CreightonAvenue.jpg|[[Creighton Avenue]], platted in 1895
File:St.PhilipRomanCatholicChurch.jpg|[[St. Philip Roman Catholic Church]], built in 1906, located at 50 West Crafton Avenue
File:EpiscopalChurchoftheNativityCrafton.jpg|[[Episcopal Church of the Nativity (Crafton, Pennsylvania)|Episcopal Church of the Nativity]], built in 1908, located at 33 Alice Street
File:CampbellBuilding.jpg|The [[Campbell Building]], circa 1910, located at 3 Crafton Square
File:CraftonElementarySchool.jpg|[[Crafton Elementary School]], built in 1913, located at 1874 Crafton Boulevard
File:GeorgeLeberHouse.jpg|The [[George Leber House]], built in 1938, located at 132 East Crafton Avenue
File:Crafton Fire Detp.jpg|[[Crafton Volunteer Fire Hall]], located at Noble and Bradford avenues
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Crafton, Pennsylvania}}
* [http://www.craftonborough.com Crafton Borough (official site)]

{{Allegheny County, Pennsylvania}}

{{authority control}}

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box
 | title  = [[Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|Bordering communities]]<br />of [[Pittsburgh]]
 | years  =
 | with   =
 | before = [[Ingram, Pennsylvania|Ingram]]
 | after  = [[Rosslyn Farms, Pennsylvania|Rosslyn Farms]]
}}
{{S-end}}

[[Category:Populated places established in 1872]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Boroughs in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:1872 establishments in Pennsylvania]]