Roscoe is a borough in

Washington County, Pennsylvania Washington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 209,349. Its county seat is Washington. Washington County is part of the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is ...

, United States. The population was 716 at the 2020 census.

History

Roscoe became the home for many eastern European immigrants who came to the area to work in nearby coal mine. Slovaks, Poles, Serbs, Croatians, Italians, Hungarians, and

Rusyns Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety, treated variously as either a distinct lang ...

are all represented in census records of the area from 1880 and onward. The Allenport & Roscoe Street Railway was formed in 1903 and was purchased by Pittsburgh Railways to form part of their

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...

line to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

in 1906. The extension to Roscoe was completed on June 20, 1910. The line was closed in 1953. The town was originally named Lucyville as early as 1860, however the community changed its name to Roscoe in honor of the maiden name of a local resident, Mrs. Joseph Underwood,

Geography

Roscoe is located at (40.078513, -79.865225). According to the

United States 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 th ...

, the borough has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (16.67%) is water.

Surrounding neighborhoods

Roscoe has two land borders with Allenport to the north and east and Elco to the west. Across the Monongahela River to the south, Roscoe runs adjacent with Jefferson Township in Fayette County.

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 848 people, 398 households, and 243 families living 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 4,256.0 people per square mile (1,637.1/km²). There were 426 housing units at an average density of 2,138.0 per square mile (822.4/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.35%

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 ...

, 0.94%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, 0.12% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 0.35% of the population. There were 398 households, out of which 20.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.77. In the borough the population was spread out, with 17.8% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 25.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.6 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $31,094, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $33,167 versus $23,529 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 $17,508. About 4.1% of families and 6.1% 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 ...

, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Boroughs in Washington County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1869 Pittsburgh metropolitan area Pennsylvania populated places on the Monongahela River 1869 establishments in Pennsylvania Coal towns in Pennsylvania Rusyn-American culture in Pennsylvania Rusyn-American history