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Jenkintown is a
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
in Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of
Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...
.


History

The community was named for William Jenkins, a Welsh pioneer settler. Jenkintown is located just outside Philadelphia along the Route 611 corridor between Abington and
Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
Townships. The Borough was settled in about 1697 and incorporated on December 8, 1874 when approximately was taken from Abington Township. Today, the Borough is approximately 0.58 square miles and is home to 4,500 residents. The borough is a mostly
residential community A residential community is a community, usually a small town or city, that is composed mostly of residents, as opposed to commercial businesses and/or industrial facilities, all three of which are considered to be the three main types of occup ...
that is separated into East and West by the Business District that runs along and surrounds
Old York Road Old York Road (originally York Road, with reference to New York) is a roadway that was built during the 18th century to connect Philadelphia with New York City. Through New Jersey it was built along the Raritan (Unami tribe) "Naraticong Trail", ...
(Route 611) corridor. On the east side of Old York Road, residential development is predominantly characterized by larger detached single-family homes on lots larger than the Borough average. On the southeast side of York Road, there is a small mixed concentration of row homes,
duplexes A duplex house plan has two living units attached to each other, either next to each other as townhouses, condominiums or above each other like apartments. By contrast, a building comprising two attached units on two distinct properties is ...
, and single-family residences. The majority of the residential development, however, is located to the west of York Road. This area consists of a traditional small town mix of detached single-family homes, duplexes, and row homes. Located throughout this area are several multi-family apartment buildings that are residential condominium or rental properties. At the center of this residential area are the Jenkintown Elementary School and the Jenkintown High School. The Jenkintown Fire Department consists of two fire companies founded more than 125 years ago. The Jenkintown Fire Department is a totally volunteer department consisting of the Pioneer Fire Company #1 and the Independent Fire Company #2. The Pioneer Company was organized in 1884 and the Independent Company was organized in 1889, an artifact of the historical split between Catholics and Protestants in the population of the borough. The two fire companies have a total membership of approximately 150 with 50 members composing the active firefighting crew. Elements of the British army passed through Jenkintown en route to the
Battle of White Marsh The Battle of White Marsh or Battle of Edge Hill was a battle of the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought December 5–8, 1777, in the area surrounding Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania. The battle, which took the form ...
in early December 1777. The Jenkins' Town Lyceum Building, Jenkintown-Wyncote station, and
Strawbridge and Clothier Store The Strawbridge and Clothier Store is a historic department store building located at Jenkintown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was built by Strawbridge & Clothier in 1930-1931 and renovated and expanded in 1954. It closed in 1988 when it ...
are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.


Geography

Jenkintown borough is located at (40.096060, -75.129415). According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the borough has a total area of , all land.
Pennsylvania Route 611 Pennsylvania Route 611 (PA 611) is a state highway in eastern Pennsylvania running from Interstate 95 (I-95) in the southern part of the city of Philadelphia north to I-380 in Coolbaugh Township in the Pocono Mountains. Within Philadelphia, P ...
passes through the center of the borough. Jenkintown is surrounded by Abington Township to the north, west, and east, and borders
Cheltenham Township Cheltenham Township is a home rule township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Cheltenham's population density ranges from over 10,000 per square mile (25,900 per square kilometer) in rowhouses and high-rise apartments along Chelte ...
to the south.


Education

The
Jenkintown School District The Jenkintown School District is a public school district in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The school district serves the borough of Jenkintown, a suburb of about 4,500 people that is three miles from Philadelphia. Schools The district fea ...
includes Jenkintown Elementary School and Jenkintown Middle/High School. The district has an enrollment of over 700 students. St. Joseph the Protector Regional Catholic School in Glenside and Abington Township is the area Catholic school. It was formed in 2012 by the merger of Immaculate Conception School in Jenkintown and St. Luke the Evangelist School in Glenside.
Abington Friends School Abington Friends School is an independent Quaker school in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, United States, serving students from age 3 to grade 12. Abington Friends School has stood on its original campus in the Abington Township neighborhood of Jenkint ...
is an independent
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
school in nearby Abington, Pennsylvania, serving students from age 3 to grade 12. Abington Friends School has stood on its original campus in Abington Township since 1697.
Manor College Manor College is a private Catholic college in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. It offers associate and bachelor's degrees and is best known for its veterinary technician and dental hygiene programs. To give students a hands-on learning experience, th ...
(est. 1947) is a private Catholic college founded by the Byzantine Ukrainian Sisters of Saint Basil the Great. It is affiliated with the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's C ...
.


Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the borough was 87.5% White, 5.7% Black or African American, 2.0% Asian, and 1.8% were two or more races. 3.0% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 4,478 people, 2,035 households, and 1,088 families residing in the borough. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 7,844.0 people per square mile (3,033.3/km2). There were 2,085 housing units at an average density of 3,652.2 per square mile (1,412.3/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 93.61%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 4.00%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.04% Native American, 0.94%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.02%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.49% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.89% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.30% of the population. There were 2,035 households, out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.5% were non-families. 40.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 3.08. The age distribution of the borough's population is spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.2 males. The
median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...
for a household in the borough was $47,743, and the median income for a family was $72,902. Males had a median income of $41,970 versus $35,625 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the borough was $29,834. About 1.9% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.


Transportation

Pennsylvania Route 611 Pennsylvania Route 611 (PA 611) is a state highway in eastern Pennsylvania running from Interstate 95 (I-95) in the southern part of the city of Philadelphia north to I-380 in Coolbaugh Township in the Pocono Mountains. Within Philadelphia, P ...
heads north–south through Jenkintown along
Old York Road Old York Road (originally York Road, with reference to New York) is a roadway that was built during the 18th century to connect Philadelphia with New York City. Through New Jersey it was built along the Raritan (Unami tribe) "Naraticong Trail", ...
, heading south to
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and north to Willow Grove, where it has an interchange with the
Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's we ...
, and Doylestown.
Pennsylvania Route 73 Pennsylvania Route 73 (PA 73) is a long east–west state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. It runs from PA 61 near Leesport southeast to the New Jersey state line on the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge over the Delaware River i ...
passes east–west along the southern edge of Jenkintown along Washington Lane and Township Line Road, heading west to Wyncote and east to
Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending ...
. Greenwood Avenue runs east–west through the center of Jenkintown, heading west to Wyncote. The Jenkintown-Wyncote station is one of
SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
's major
Regional Rail Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...
stops; the
Lansdale/Doylestown Line The Lansdale/Doylestown Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line connecting Center City Philadelphia to Doylestown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Until 1981, diesel-powered trains continued on the Bethlehem Branch from Lansdale to Quakertown, Bethle ...
,
Warminster Line The Warminster Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system. It serves stations between its namesake town, Warminster (SEPTA station), Warminster, and Center City, Philadelphia. Half of the route is shared by other lines, incl ...
, and
West Trenton Line The West Trenton Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia to the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey. With around 12,000 riders every weekday, it is the third busiest line in the SEPTA Regional R ...
regional rail services all stop there. Jenkintown-Wyncote station is the busiest SEPTA Regional Rail station outside the city of Philadelphia. The Jenkintown-Wyncote station building with its Queen Anne-style architecture was designed by famous Philadelphia architect
Horace Trumbauer Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of ...
. SEPTA provides
City Bus A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
service to Jenkintown along Route 55, which follows PA 611 south to
Olney Transportation Center The Olney Transportation Center, also called Olney Terminal, is a SEPTA bus and subway station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located at the intersection of Broad Street and Olney Avenue in the Logan neighborhood of North Philadelphia. ...
in
North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...
and north to Willow Grove and Doylestown, and Route 77, which heads west to the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia and east to Northeast Philadelphia.


Politics and government

Jenkintown has a
city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...
form of government with a
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
and a twelve-member borough council. The current mayor is Gabriel Lerman. Deborra Sines Pancoe is the President of Borough Council, and Jay Conners is vice president. The borough is part of the Fourth Congressional District, represented by
Madeleine Dean Madeleine Dean Cunnane (born June 6, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district. The district includes almost all of Montgomery County, a suburban county north of P ...
. At the state level, Jenkintown is part of the Pennsylvania's 154th Representative District, represented by
Napoleon Nelson Napoleon J. Nelson, Sr. is an American politician. He is a Democrat representing District 154 in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Early life Nelson attended Central High School and graduated in 1998. He then graduated from the Massa ...
, and the 4th Senatorial District, represented by Arthur L. Haywood III. All are Democrats. Jenkintown, like its surroundings of Abington and
Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
and their included towns, votes overwhelmingly Democratic.


In popular culture

The television
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
'' The Goldbergs'' is set in Jenkintown; it is based on the 1980s childhood of show creator
Adam F. Goldberg Adam Frederick Goldberg (born April 2, 1976) is an American television and film producer, and writer. Goldberg is best known as the creator and showrunner of '' The Goldbergs'', a television sitcom based on his childhood in which he is portrayed ...
, a Jenkintown native.


Notable people

*
Bryan Cohen Bryan Cohen (born May 10, 1989) is an American-Israeli former basketball player. He played the shooting guard position. He won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2009 Maccabiah Games. He played college basketball for the Bucknell Bison, and was ...
(born 1989), American-Israeli basketball player *
Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for nine Academy Awards, si ...
, actor and filmmaker * Lawrence Curry, educator and politician *
Adam F. Goldberg Adam Frederick Goldberg (born April 2, 1976) is an American television and film producer, and writer. Goldberg is best known as the creator and showrunner of '' The Goldbergs'', a television sitcom based on his childhood in which he is portrayed ...
, television and film producer; creator of ''The Goldbergs'', which is set in Jenkintown *
George Low Jr. George Anderson Low, Jr. (July 5, 1912 – April 10, 1995) was an American professional golfer and noted putting instructor and designer of golf putters. Low was also one of golf's greatest—and unabashed—hustlers. He once reportedly said, "S ...
, professional golfer * George Low Sr., professional golfer *
Carol Polis Carol B. Polis (born May 23, 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American writer, stockbroker and former professional boxing judge. From 1973 to 2009, she judged 143 professional boxing contests, including many world championships. Polis is t ...
, (born 1947), professional boxing judge *
Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...
, poet and criticNeil Stook, The Life of Ezra Pound (2011), page 5 *
Lessing J. Rosenwald Lessing Julius Rosenwald (February 10, 1891 – June 24, 1979) was an American businessman, a collector of rare books and art, a chess patron, and a philanthropist. Biography Born in Chicago, Lessing J. Rosenwald was the eldest son of Julius R ...
, businessman, collector of rare books and art, chess patron, and philanthropist; chairman and president of
Sears, Roebuck and Company Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
*
Max Ritter Richard Max Ritter (November 7, 1886 – May 24, 1974) was a German freestyle and backstroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Biography He was born in Magdeburg and died in Montgomery, Pennsyl ...
, Olympic swimmer *
Allyson Schwartz Allyson Schwartz (née Young; born October 3, 1948) is an American Democratic Party politician who represented parts of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015 and Northeast and ...
, politician


Gallery


References


External links


Borough of Jenkintown
{{authority control 1874 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1697