Upland, Pennsylvania

Geography

Upland is located in southern Delaware County at (39.856762, -75.379429). It is bordered to the west by Chester Township, to the north by the boroughs of Brookhaven and Parkside, and to the northeast, east, and south by the city of Chester. Chester Creek, a southeastward-flowing tributary of the Delaware River, forms the southern boundary of the borough.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.68 km2, all land.

History

The first European settlers in this area were from the Swedish colony of New Sweden. They arrived in the area in 1643 and built a permanent settlement at Tinicum Island. Although the name literally means "up land", it also reflects the Swedish province of Uppland.

The settlement of Upland was built around the point where Chester Creek flows into the Delaware River, which is part of the city of Chester, formerly also called "Upland". The colonists had plantations devoted to the cultivation of tobacco for export to Sweden. Upland was reflected on the early map of New Sweden made by Peter Lindstrom in 1654.

During this period, three governments were competing for colonial supremacy in the mid-Atlantic coastal area: the Dutch, the Swedish and the English. The Swedish settlement was incorporated into Dutch New Netherland on September 15, 1655. In 1664, the English captured New Netherland from the Dutch. In 1676, the Duke of York's laws were promulgated as the rule of conduct on the Delaware River, and courts were established, one of which was the Upland.

By the mid-1800s, the Upland Mills were built along Chester Creek in Upland by the wealthy textile manufacturer John Price Crozer. The mills produced clothing for the US Army and other customers.

The borough of Upland was founded May 24, 1869.

The John P. Crozer II Mansion, George K. Crozer Mansion, Caleb Pusey House, Old Main of the Crozer Theological Seminary, and Pusey-Crozier Mill Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Pusey House is one of the oldest buildings in the United States, completed in 1696, and one of the only extant buildings known to have been visited by William Penn (in addition to the Merion Friends Meeting House).

Education

Residents in Upland are zoned to the Chester-Upland School District. Main Street Elementary School is the elementary school in Upland. Residents are also zoned to Smedley Middle School and Chester High School.

Crozer Theological Seminary was a multi-denominational religious institution built in 1858 by the wealthy industrialist John Price Crozer. Its most famous student was Martin Luther King Jr., who graduated in 1951 with a Bachelor of Divinity degree.

In 1970, the school was moved to Rochester, New York in a merger that formed the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. The Old Main Building of the Crozer Theological Seminary was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The seminary grounds are part of the Crozer Arboretum and the Old Main building is part of the Crozer-Chester Medical Center.

Demographics

As of 2010 census, the racial makeup of the borough was 51.3% White, 41.3% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.4% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.8% of the population https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF.

As of the 2000 census, of 2000, there were 2,977 people, 1,116 households, and 765 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,439.0 PD/sqmi. There were 1,216 housing units at an average density of 1,813.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the borough was 77.23% White, 19.68% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.81% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.08% of the population.

There were 1,116 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were married couples living together, 20.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the borough, the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $28,869, and the median income for a family was $35,640. Males had a median income of $31,188 versus $26,723 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $15,391. About 20.1% of families and 25.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.3% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

As of 2014, there were 9.88 mi of public roads in Upland, of which 2.38 mi were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 7.50 mi were maintained by the borough.

Interstate 95 is the main highway serving Upland; portions of Interchange 6 are located within the borough.

Points of interest

• Caleb Pusey House
• Crozer Arboretum
• Crozer Chester Medical Center
• Crozer Theological Seminary
• John P. Crozer II Mansion
• Upland Baptist Church

Notable people

• Clarence D. Bell, former Pennsylvania State Senator
• Danny Murtaugh, Pittsburgh Pirates player and manager, died in Upland
• John Price Crozer, textile manufacturer and philanthropist
• John K. Hagerty, former Pennsylvania State Representative
• Heather Lind, actress, Boardwalk Empire and TURN
• George Plafker, geologist and seismologist

References

Other sources

• Jordan, John W. A History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania (Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York. 1914)
• Ward, Christopher L. New Sweden on the Delaware (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1938)
• Armstrong, Edward; William H. Denny The Record of the Court at Upland, in Pennsylvania. 1676 to 1681 (Kessinger Pub Company. 2007)

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. (May 24, 2020). "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau.
3. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Upland borough, Pennsylvania". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder.
4. (2011-02-12). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
5. [http://etc.usf.edu/maps/pages/8100/8118/8118.htm '' Narrative and Critical History of America (vol. 4)'' (Justin Winsor. Boston, MA: Houghton, Mifflin, and Company, 1884)]
6. "History of Upland Borough".
7. [http://www.westjerseyhistory.org/docs/upland/''Upland Court in Chester County'']
8. (1883). "Historical Sketch of Chester, on Delaware". Republican Steam Printing House.
9. (2008). "Congregation and Campus: Baptists in Higher Education". Mercer University Press.
10. (1884). "History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania". L.H. Everts & Co..
11. {{NRISref
12. link. (August 14, 2011 ." ''Main Street Elementary School''. Retrieved on March 30, 2009.)
13. (1998). "The autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.". Warner Books.
14. Dugan, George. (1970-05-17). "BAPTIST SEMINARY PLANS TO MERGE; Crozer Theological to Join With School in Rochester".
15. Pennsylvania Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks. (June 1972). "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania". CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System.
16. "Census 2020".
17. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
18. "Upland Borough map". PennDOT.