Editing Gap, Pennsylvania

{{short description|Unincorporated community in Pennsylvania, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
 | official_name            = Gap, Pennsylvania
 | settlement_type          = [[Census-designated place]]
 | nickname                 = 
 | motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
 | image_skyline            = Gap, Lancaster Co, PA 1.JPG
 | imagesize                = 
 | image_caption            = Store in Gap
 | image_flag               = 
 | image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
 | image_map                = Gap, Lancaster County Highlighted.png
 | mapsize                  = 
 | map_caption              = Location in [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster County]]
 | image_map1               = 
 | mapsize1                 = 
 | pushpin_map_caption      = Location in Pennsylvania##Location in the United States
 | pushpin_map              = Pennsylvania#USA
 | pushpin_label            = Gap
 | pushpin_label_position   = top

<!-- Location -->
 | subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
 | subdivision_name         = United States
 | subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
 | subdivision_name1        = [[Pennsylvania]]
 | subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Pennsylvania|County]]
 | subdivision_name2        = [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]]
 | subdivision_type3        = [[List of townships in Pennsylvania|Townships]]
 | subdivision_name3        = [[Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Salisbury]], [[Sadsbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Sadsbury]]

<!-- Government -->
 | government_footnotes     = 
 | government_type          = 
 | leader_title             = 
 | leader_name              = 
 | leader_title1            = 
 | leader_name1             = 
 | established_title        = 
 | established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
 | unit_pref                = Imperial
 | area_footnotes           = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{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_magnitude           = 
 | area_total_km2           = 7.52
 | area_land_km2            = 7.52
 | area_water_km2           = 0.01
 | area_total_sq_mi         = 2.91
 | area_land_sq_mi          = 2.90
 | area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00

<!-- Population -->
 | population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
 | population_footnotes     = <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=Oct 12, 2022}}</ref>
 | population_total         = 2186
 | population_density_km2   = 290.88
 | population_density_sq_mi = 753.27

<!-- General information -->
 | timezone                 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
 | utc_offset               = -5
 | timezone_DST             = EDT
 | utc_offset_DST           = -4
 | elevation_footnotes      = 
 | elevation_m              = 
 | elevation_ft             = 545
 | coordinates              = {{coord|39|59|14|N|76|01|14|W|region:US-PA|display=inline,title}}
 | postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
 | postal_code              = 17527
 | area_code                = [[Area code 717|717]]
 | blank_name               = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
 | blank_info               = 1175420<ref>{{cite gnis|1175420|Gap}}</ref>
 | blank1_name              = [[FIPS code]]
 | blank1_info              = 42-28376
 | website                  = 
 | footnotes                = 
 | pop_est_as_of            = 
 | pop_est_footnotes        = 
 | population_est           = 
}}

'''Gap''' is a [[census-designated place]] (CDP) and [[Unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] in [[Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Salisbury Township]], [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster County]], [[Pennsylvania]], United States, with a [[ZIP code]] of 17527. The population was 1,931 at the 2010 census.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4228376&tid=DECENNIALSF12010.P1| title=Total Population: 2010 Census DEC Summary File 1 (P1), Gap CDP, Pennsylvania| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| website=data.census.gov| access-date=September 22, 2020}}</ref> [[U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania|U.S. Route 30]] passes through the town, which is also the terminus for four Pennsylvania highways: [[Pennsylvania Route 772|772]], [[Pennsylvania Route 741|741]], [[Pennsylvania Route 897|897]], and the heavily used [[Pennsylvania Route 41|41]], which leads toward [[Wilmington, Delaware]].

Gap lies approximately {{convert|16|mi}} east of [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]] and {{convert|49|mi}} west of [[Philadelphia]].

==History==
Gap was named for its location at a low [[mountain pass|pass]] through Mine Ridge.<ref>{{cite book|last=Espenshade|first=Abraham Howry|title=Pennsylvania Place Names|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015012934249&view=1up&seq=314|year=1925|publisher=Evangelical Press|isbn=978-0-8063-0416-8|page=310}}</ref> Gap has a history which can be dated as far back as [[William Penn]]'s first visits to the area. Isaac Taylor erected the first house in what would become Gap in 1747.<ref>{{Cite book|title= A Biographical History of Lancaster County|first= Alex |last= Harris|publisher= Elias Barr & Co.|location= Lancaster, PA|year=1872 |isbn= 978-0-8063-0590-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/abiographicalhi00harrgoog }}</ref> The area around Gap had a [[copper]] mine and what at the time were the only [[nickel]] mines in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Physical and Industrial Geography of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania |first= Henry Justin |last= Roddy| publisher= The New Era Printing Company |location= Lancaster, PA |year=1917 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRrPAAAAMAAJ|page=62 }}</ref>

From 1792, the Rising Sun Tavern stood on the Philadelphia–Lancaster Pike (which is now U.S. Route 30) and had a small village with blacksmith shop.<ref name="Logan-2019-10-10-LNP-News">{{Cite news| last=Logan  |first=Rebecca |date=2019-10-10 |title= Buildings in Gap historic district may soon become part of the past [with photos] |newspaper=LNP Lancaster Online |url=https://lancasteronline.com/features/buildings-in-gap-historic-district-may-soon-become-part-of-the-past-photos/article_6c6b9d80-eaca-11e9-af0f-b3eda5191e0c.html |access-date=2022-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125125053/https://lancasteronline.com/features/buildings-in-gap-historic-district-may-soon-become-part-of-the-past-photos/article_6c6b9d80-eaca-11e9-af0f-b3eda5191e0c.html |archive-date=2021-01-25 }}</ref> Most of the buildings stood until circa 2020–2021, when they were removed for redevelopment; the site now contains a large convenience store and gas station. Although there was interest among locals to preserve the buildings, the real estate was valuable commercial frontage and funding for preservation was not available.

A stretch of railroad line was laid through the pass in the 19th century.{{When|date=September 2020}} Today the same railroad right-of-way carries Amtrak trains on the Keystone service.

In the mid-19th century there was a group of men known as "The Gap Gang". They would engage in raids and robberies of citizens traveling the Lancaster Philadelphia Turnpike. They were notorious for kidnapping free blacks and escaped slaves and selling them to slave traders in Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. The Gap Gang were most noted for their involvement in the [[Christiana Riot]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1888/08/15/100945520.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204184949/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1888/08/15/100945520.pdf |archive-date=2022-12-04 |url-status=live |title=Tried For High Treason - A celebrated incident of the Fugitive Slave Law. Citizens of Lancaster County, Penn., will celebrate an event which has become historical |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 15, 1888 |location=[[New York, NY|New York]] |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=8 December 2013}}</ref>

Nearby to the west, and traditionally closely associated with Gap, is [[White Chimneys]], a country estate that began as a [[Fancy Dutch|Church Dutch]] family farm much like any other in the area but eventually became known for wealth because it was the home of the Slaymaker family, who owned the Slaymaker Lock Company of Lancaster City.

==Geography==
Gap is in eastern Lancaster County, in the southern part of Salisbury Township. A small portion of the community extends south into [[Sadsbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Sadsbury Township]]. The gap for which the community is named is at an elevation of {{convert|580|ft}} above sea level, between Mine Ridge to the west and Gap Hill to the east, both ridges rising to about {{convert|750|ft}} above sea level. The community occupies the center of the gap and extends northward downslope into Salisbury Township.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the CDP has a total area of {{convert|7.3|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|7943|sqm|acre|order=flip|1}}, or 0.11%, are water. The gap separates the watersheds of two tributaries of the [[Susquehanna River]]. To the north, streams flow to [[Pequea Creek]], which flows west to the Susquehanna at [[Pequea, Pennsylvania|Pequea]]. To the south, water flows to the East Branch of [[Octoraro Creek]], reaching the Susquehanna just south of [[Conowingo Dam]] in [[Maryland]].

==Roads==
[[U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania|U.S. Route 30]] (the [[Lincoln Highway]]) passes through Gap, leading west {{convert|16|mi}} to Lancaster and east {{convert|10|mi|0}} to [[Coatesville, Pennsylvania|Coatesville]] and eventually Philadelphia.

[[Pennsylvania Route 41]] begins in Gap at US 30 and leads southeast {{convert|30|mi}} to the [[Wilmington, Delaware]], area. It is a major route for commercial trucks.{{citation needed|date = April 2014}}

[[Pennsylvania Route 772]] starts four blocks west of the intersection of PA 41 and US 30. It leads northwest {{convert|21|mi}} to [[Lititz, Pennsylvania|Lititz]], passing through [[Intercourse, Pennsylvania|Intercourse]], [[Leola, Pennsylvania|Leola]], [[Brownstown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Brownstown]], and [[Rothsville, Pennsylvania|Rothsville]] along the way.

In August 2016, a $10,000,000  realignment project was completed, separating eastbound and westbound traffic on US Route 30 between PA Route 41 and just west of PA Route 772. This has not eliminated the previous congestion problems that often plagued that area. Only complicating travel and adding to congestion and even more serious accidents.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/penndot/documents/public/pubsforms/publications/pub%20394.pdf}}</ref> This is why PennDOT is reviewing and implementing additional projects to improve congestion both east and west of the Gap Bypass on or before the year 2045.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://us30-chesco.com/}}</ref>

[[Pennsylvania Route 897]] starts in Gap one block east of Route 41 at US 30. It leads north {{convert|11|mi}} to [[Blue Ball, Pennsylvania|Blue Ball]], passing over Welsh Mountain along the way.

[[Pennsylvania Route 741]] starts at the intersection of PA 41 and Bridge Street. The route leads west {{convert|19|mi}} to [[Millersville, Pennsylvania|Millersville]].

The Gap Fire Co. is located along Pequea Avenue, one block west of PA 41. The fire company was originally located atop Pequea Avenue by their water refilling area. The original fire house was renovated into a home that is leased out. A new facility was built to house all of the rescue trucks.<ref>[http://www.gapfire.org Gap Fire Company]</ref> Up the street another block is a historic site of Gap's only radio station WNUZ, then WLRI.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dailylocal.com/2008/11/06/low-power-gap-radio-station-being-held-hostage/ | title=Low-power Gap radio station being held hostage | date=November 6, 2008 }}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|2020= 3320
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=January 31, 2025}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Gap Town Clock.jpg|thumb|right|The Gap Town Clock]]
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/pennsylvania-population-change-between-census-decade.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2025-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 3,320 people, 1,505 households, and 714 families residing in the CDP. The racial makeup of the CDP was 95% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 3% [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.06% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.06% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.12% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.12% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.31% from two or more races. 1% of the population were [[Hispanics in the United States|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 714 households, out of which 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.7% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.6% were non-families. 16.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 29.4% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $100,313, and the median income for a family was $51,181. Males had a median income of $38,958 versus $24,803 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the CDP was $18,052. About 4.4% of families and 14.109% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including those under age 18 and 24.055% of those age 65 or over.

==Attractions==
The Gap Town Clock, built in 1892, is a Lancaster County Historic Preservation Trust Site. According to the Gap Clock Tower Association, "The clock's face, long telling the time to passing multitudes, overlooks, at the gap, William Penns' entrance into Conestoga, now Lancaster County, in 1701."<ref>Gap Clock Tower Association, Gap Town Clock onsite descriptions.</ref>

==Media==
[[File:WNUZ Block Logo of 2020.jpg|thumb|alt=WNUZ Logo|WNUZ]]<ref>https://wnuz.org/</ref>
On April 20, 2001, Gap became home to first generation Low Power FM broadcast station [[WNUZ-LP]]. WNUZ <ref>https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityDetails.html?facilityId=135143</ref> has had many studio locations in Gap, including along 100 block of Christiana Avenue in the Sadsbury Township, section of Gap. In the 800 block of Pequea Avenue <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dailylocal.com/2008/11/06/low-power-gap-radio-station-being-held-hostage/ | title=Low-power Gap radio station being held hostage | date=November 6, 2008 }}</ref> and originally along the 700 block of County Line Road. WNUZ is a volunteer,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wnuz.org/community-service/ | title=Community Service | date=February 13, 2019 }}</ref> all news community radio station engaging the community and vicinity to participate in the daily live through free speech journalism, social economic and community strengthening  activities, programs and services.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wnuz.org/contact/ | title=Contact | date=April 2, 2018 }}</ref> WNUZ is a partner of many Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Lancaster County and Chester County local programs and services. Although The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) eliminated the main studio rule in 2017, making it effective January 8, 2018. (The rule required broadcast stations to have a main studio in or near their community. The FCC found the rule outdated and burdensome.)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-eliminates-main-studio-rule-0 | title=FCC Eliminates Main Studio Rule &#124; Federal Communications Commission | date=October 24, 2017 }}</ref> WNUZ did not shut its main studios to the public until the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, June 1, 2020.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wnuz.org/public-services-and-resource/ | title=Public Services and Resource | date=June 16, 2022 }}</ref> In 2018, WNUZ began streamlining many of its public services to its website WNUZ.org (then WLRI).

==Notable people==
* [[Christian McLaughlin (broadcaster)|Christian McLaughlin]], Founder, President and current General Manager of [[WNUZ-LP]]
* [[Anne F. Beiler]], founder of [[Auntie Anne's]]
* [[William Chester Ruth]] (1882–1971), African American inventor and machinist
* [[Charles Coates Walker]] (1920–2004), Quaker activist

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Lancaster County, Pennsylvania}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Census-designated places in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in Pennsylvania]]