Blain is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 227 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg metropolitan area. Blain is located in a valley region known as Sherman's Valley.

History

Early settlement began around the mill built by James Blaine in 1778, from whom the borough took its name. The final "e" was dropped at some point, although there are records of county newspapers using the "Blaine" spelling until at least 1868. Early in the 1800s, Blaine's mill came into the possession of William Douglas, who had a post office established with the name "Douglas' Mills". A subsequent owner of the mill, Anthony Black, had the name of the post office changed to "Multicaulisville", after the mulberry tree ('' morus multicaulis''), in which he had a financial interest during a speculative bubble in the tree. Lots were

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted for sale in 1846 and the name of the post office was changed to "Blain". At one time, Blain was noted for being the smallest borough in Pennsylvania to own its own water plant and electric street lighting system. Jacob Wentz was instrumental in the construction of the first water plant in about 1869 or 1870. The borough was incorporated by an order of the Perry county court on November 3, 1877.

Geography

Blain is located at (40.337233, -77.510525). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the borough has a total area of , all land. Population is 286 (2000). Its highest point is Conegeuege Mountain (1872 feet); the elevation is 750 feet on average.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 252 people, 96 households, and 67 families living in the borough. The population density was . There were 102 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 96.43%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and 3.57%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

. There were 96 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.15. In the borough the population was spread out, with 28.2% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.4 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $32,500, and the median income for a family was $39,750. Males had a median income of $35,313 versus $21,875 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $16,223. About 11.6% of families and 12.6% 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 18.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 10.3% of those 65 or over.

Notes and references

{{authority control Populated places established in 1846 Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area Boroughs in Perry County, Pennsylvania 1877 establishments in Pennsylvania