Wampum is a borough in Lawrence 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, ...

. The population was 557 at the 2020 census. It is part of the New Castle micropolitan area.

Geography

Wampum is located at (40.888657, -80.339650). 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 , of which is land and , or 4.17%, is water. Wampum is drained by two tributaries to the Beaver River, including Eckles Run on the north and Wampum Run on the south.

Demographics

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 678 people, 290 households, and 182 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 736.1 people per square mile (284.5/km²). There were 310 housing units at an average density of 336.6 per square mile (130.1/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.05%

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 ...

, 1.77%

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 ...

, 0.15% Native American, 0.44%

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 ...

, and 0.59% from two or more races. There were 290 households, out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% 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, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.99. In the borough the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $29,205, and the median income for a family was $36,094. Males had a median income of $31,023 versus $26,071 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 $15,598. About 11.8% of families and 17.9% 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 22.9% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Wampum had its own

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

called Wampum Public Schools from 1914 to 1962. The district also included students from nearby Chewton and, after 1954, New Beaver. Since 1962, children in Wampum proper and Chewton have attend

Ellwood City Area School District The Elwood City Area School District (ECASD) is a diminutive, suburban, public school district located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. It serves the boroughs of Ellwood City, Ellport, and New Beaver, and th ...

, which is considered the legal successor to Wampum Public Schools due to state-mandated school consolidation in the 1960s. Due to a dispute with the former Big Beaver Township School District that had an informal union with Wampum Public Schools but never fully merged with Wampum, children in New Beaver have attended Big Beaver's successor

Mohawk Area School District Mohawk Area School District is a rural, public school system in Bessemer, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States. Mohawk Area School District encompasses approximately . It is the largest school district in Lawrence County by area, serving ...

since Ellwood City absorbed Wampum Public Schools.

Notable people

Dick Allen Richard Anthony Allen (March 8, 1942 – December 7, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. During his fifteen-year-long Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played as a first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder, most notably ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player *

Hank Allen Harold Andrew "Hank" Allen (born July 23, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player who appeared in Major League Baseball, primarily as an outfielder, for the Washington Senators (–), Milwaukee Brewers () and Chicago White Sox ...

player * Ron Allen,

player *

Don Hennon Don Leroy Hennon (born November 8, 1937) is an American surgeon and a former basketball player for the University of Pittsburgh Panthers basketball team, where he was a two-time Consensus All-American. A tall guard, Hennon was noted for his prol ...

, basketball player and surgeon * Stephen Johns,

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

player for the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

* William V. McBride, Former United States Air Force general

References

External links

* {{authority control Populated places established in 1796 Boroughs in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania 1796 establishments in Pennsylvania