Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
View of downtown Beaver Falls, taken from Northwood Hall at Geneva College
Location in Beaver County
Location in the state of Pennsylvania
Country	United States
Commonwealth	Pennsylvania
County	Beaver County
Incorporated	November 9, 1868 (borough)
	December 3, 1928 (city)
Area
- Total	2.3 sq mi (6 km²)
- Land	2.1 sq mi (5.4 km²)
- Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²)
Population (U.S. Census Estimate, 2000)
- Total	9,920
- Density	4,681.6/sq mi (1,807.6/km²)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)

Beaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,920 at the 2000 census. It is located 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, and on the Beaver River, six miles (9 km) from its confluence with the Ohio River. A variety of manufacturing plants had kept the residents busy in the twentieth century; however, the city has suffered a fair amount of economic malaise lately due to the decline in the steel-making capacity in the Pittsburgh region where Beaver Falls is situated.

History

Originally called Brighton, Beaver Falls was chartered as a borough in 1868. It adopted the commission form of government in 1913.

Population counts were as follows:

• 1890, 9,735

• 1900, 10,054

• 1910, 12,191

• 1920, 12,802

• 1940, 17,098

• 2000, 9,920

Nearly 75% of the population had dropped between 1940 and 2000, which is attributed mostly to its central location in the Rust Belt.

Travellers would often stop in Beaver Falls while going through Western Pennsylvania since there were many modes of transportation through the area. Some of these modes included the Beaver and Erie Canal (1844-1872), the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (1875-1993), and the Pennsylvania Turnpike (1952-present).

The city is best known in fiction as the setting of the television situation comedy Mr. Belvedere. On May 31, 1985, an F3 tornado hit just north of the city as it went across northern portions of Beaver County, as part of the United States-Canadian Outbreak.^[1] The plates for United States paper currency are manufactured here. Geneva College is located in the College Hill neighborhood on the north side of the city. The world's first recorded college basketball game occurred in the city on April 8, 1893 when the intramural team from Geneva College defeated the New Brighton YMCA.

Geography

Beaver Falls is located at 40°45′32″N, 80°19′11″W (40.758865, -80.319737)^[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.3 square miles (5.9 km²), of which, 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (7.02%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 9,920 people, 3,798 households, and 2,259 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,681.6 people per square mile (1,806.7/km²). There are 4,380 housing units at an average density of 2,067.1/sq mi (797.7/km²).

Beaver Falls Municipal Authority

The racial makeup of the city was 78.82% White, 17.53% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 2.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.

There were 3,798 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 9.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 16.7% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 84.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,344, and the median income for a family was $30,405. Males had a median income of $31,151 versus $22,243 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,808. About 19.8% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.8% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable natives and residents

• Jack Damaska, MLB player
• Joanie Dodds, runner-up on America's Next Top Model, Cycle 6
• Ernest P. Kline, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979
• Thomas Midgley, inventor of lead for gasoline and chlorofluorocarbons born here
• Sean Miller, Xavier head men's basketball coach
• Joe Namath, legendary Hall of Fame AFL and NFL quarterback; led New York Jets in upset victory in Super Bowl III over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts
• Harry Traver, engineer and roller coaster designer
• Joe Walton, college and professional American football coach

Neighborhoods

• College Hill
• Morado
• Steffens Hill

Education

• BCCS
• Big Beaver Falls Area School District
• Divine Mercy Academy
• Geneva College

Sites of interest

• Beaver River Trail, a paved rail trail that runs over the former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad right-of-way along the Beaver River.
• Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls, the first public library in Beaver County. The library was established in 1903 and was given a $50,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie, making the structure a Carnegie library. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Reeves Field is the playing field for the Beaver Falls Fighting Tigers and the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes football teams.

Transportation

• Airports

The closest airport to the city is Beaver County Airport. Though located in Allegheny County, Pittsburgh International Airport is within close proximity of Beaver Falls, and is easily accessible by way of PA 60.

• Roads

PA 60 is located just west of the city, and is accessible from Beaver Falls via PA 51, PA 551, and PA 588. PA 18 is the main road through Beaver Falls, and becomes the city's Main Street when going through downtown. PA 65 is located southeast of Beaver Falls in New Brighton. Plus, the Pennsylvania Turnpike is located just north of Beaver Falls, providing access to the entire state. PA 251 is a small highway located on the western edge of the city in the borough of West Mayfield.

• Railroads

Two major freight haulers in the city include CSX Transportation, and the Norfolk Southern Railway. Both railroads have their mainlines running through Beaver Falls. NS also has a subsidiary line along the Beaver River.

• Waterways

Though it isn't used for transporting goods and materials, the Beaver River is a navigable waterway for boating.

References

1. ^ Britten, Kenneth, Beaver Falls Gem of Beaver County, Arcadia Publishing, 2002, ISBN 0-7385-2382-8.
2. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
3. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

External links

• Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania is at coordinates 40°45′32″N 80°19′11″W / 40.758865, -80.319737 (Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania)Coordinates: 40°45′32″N 80°19′11″W / 40.758865, -80.319737 (Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania)
• Beaver Valley Flying Club
• Link to Documentary about Beaver Falls

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