Catasauqua is a borough in
Lehigh
County
, Pennsylvania
, settled in 1805 and chartered as a borough in
1853. Catasauqua is a suburb of Allentown,
Pennsylvania
in the Lehigh Valley
region of the state.
Historically, manufacturing was Catasauqua's principal industry,
and, in 1839, it was the location of the first manufactured
anthracite iron in the nation.
Catasauqua's population in 1910 was 5,250. The population was 6,588
at the 2000 census. The word Catasauqua is shortened to "Catty" in
local dialect when speaking of the place.
Borough officials
- Barbara Schlegel - Mayor
- Eugene Goldfeder - Borough Manager
- Susan Hein - Treasurer
- Alfred Regitis - Council President
- Brian Bartholomew - Council Vice-President
- Mica Smith - Council Member
- Vince Smith - Council Member
- Amanda Snyder - Council Member
- Wade Reinhard - Council Member
- Paul Zimbar - Council Member
- Tom Adams - Vice Mayor
Geography
Catasauqua is located at (40.652995, -75.467627) .
Nearby large
communities include Allentown three miles (5 km) to the south
and Bethlehem
.
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of
1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), of which, 1.3 square
miles (3.3 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles
(0.1 km²) of it (2.31%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 6,588
people, 2,616 households, and 1,750 families residing in the
borough. The
population density
was 5,205.7 people per square mile (2,002.9/km²). There were 2,747
housing units at an average density of 2,170.6/sq mi
(835.1/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.60%
White, 1.18%
African American, 0.33%
Native American, 0.59%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 1.08% from
other races, and 1.20%
from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 3.54% of the
population.
There were 2,616 households out of which 33.6% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were
married couples living together, 12.1% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families.
27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the borough the population was spread out with 25.0% under the
age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45
to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $42,432, and
the median income for a family was $48,589. Males had a median
income of $32,320 versus $45,730 for females. The
per capita income for the borough was
$18,906. About 5.4% of families and 8.0% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 11.7%
of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.
History
George Taylor, signer of
the
Declaration of
Independence, built a Georgian stone house in 1768 in what is
now the borough of Catasauqua. Today, the George Taylor House is a
National Historic
Landmark, a showpiece of the community's rich historical
heritage.
In 1840, the anthracite iron industry was founded in what is now
known as Catasauqua, originally Biery's Port, making it a
birthplace of the
Industrial
Revolution in the United States. Welsh immigrant
David Thomas relocated to the
area and opened the Crane Iron Works.
Remembered as "the
father of Catasauqua," Thomas initially named the community
Craneville, after his former employer in Wales
.
The wealthy, generous Thomases were responsible for many sweeping
changes to the prosperity of the community. David Thomas founded
the
Presbyterian Church of Catasauqua,
in which residents still worship today, and his wife Elizabeth
donated money and land to found the Welsh Congregational Church,
which no longer exists. Thomas organized Catasauqua's first fire
company, installed its first public water system, and served as its
first burgess.
In 1854, the town was formally titled Catasauqua (pronounced
"Cat-uh-SAW-kwuh"), from the
Lenni
Lenape language, meaning "dry ground" or "thirsty
ground."
Catasauqua is home to two different neighborhoods listed on the
National Register
of Historic Places. One is Biery's Port, located along the
Lehigh River and named for an early
family of prominence; the other is known as "the mansion district,"
and comprises Victorian homes once owned by wealthy
residents.
By 1900,
Catasauqua boasted 5,000 residents, and had the highest percentage
of self-made millionaires of any town in the United States
.
In 1917, while many of the young men of the town served in
World War I, Catasauqua became the first
community in the United States to raise $1 million in
war bonds, earning it the nickname "The Million
Dollar Town."
Catasauqua observed its 150th anniversary of incorporation in
2004.
Notable people from Catasauqua
- Buck Freeman, former professional
baseball player, Washington
Senators.
- Pat Kelly, former
professional baseball player, New York
Yankees.
- Bert Kuczynski, former pitcher
for the Philadelphia Athletics and an American football tight end
in the NFL for the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles.
- Jonathan Linton, former
professional football player, Buffalo
Bills. [19887]
- Thomas J. Lynch, World War II flying ace Thomas Lynch, flew
P-39s and P-38s, 20 confirmed kills & 20th leading Ace in
history of USA aviators.
- Lawrence "Larry" Miller, North Carolina Tar Heels; 1966 and
1967 ACC Basketball Player of the Year , 1968-69 ABA All-Rookie
Team, Played in ABA 1968-1975.
- Anthony Recker, Professional Baseball Player, Oakland A's Minor
League Affiliates, [19888], [19889]
- Dan Pensyl, Professional Skateboarder, 5boro Skateboards
- Rudy Mayo, 82 year old baseball coach of all levels. Mainly
Knee - hi. Still throws BP every practice. Coached Pat Kelly
Public education
The Borough is served by the
Catasauqua Area School
District. The school district has 3 schools: Sheckler
Elementary (grades k-4), Catasauqua Middle School(grades 5-8), and
Catasauqua High School (grades 9-12).
References
External links
Wikis
Map
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