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Farrell is a city in western Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Shenango River. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 4,258. The city is part of the Hermitage micropolitan area.


History

Once dubbed "The Magic City," Farrell sprang up practically overnight when a steel mill was constructed in 1901 on a plain bordering the Shenango River, near
Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...
, in what was then part of Hickory Township (now Hermitage). The community name was at the beginning South Sharon. In 1912, the population reached 10,000. At that time, the residents of the new city elected to take the name of Farrell, after industrialist James A. Farrell.''Farrell Golden Jubilee'' 1901-1951
)
The community was incorporated as the Borough of South Sharon in 1916; its population peaked at over 15,000 in 1920 and its status was elevated to a third-class city in 1932. In 1939, artist Virginia Wood Riggs was commissioned to paint the mural ''Myths of Vulcan and Juno'' in the towns post office. The mural was painted over in 1966. The mill, which eventually became known as the Roemer Works of Sharon Steel Corporation, would serve as the community's lifeblood until 1992, when it was liquidated after filing bankruptcy. Many of the assets were sold at auction to Britain-based Caparo Corporation and later to Swiss steelmaker Duferco, which operates the plant today. Farrell was designated a financially distressed municipality in 1987 by the state of Pennsylvania. In 2004 local politicians proposed the creation of Shenango Valley City, consisting of Farrell as well as Hermitage, Sharpsville,
Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...
, and Wheatland with the issue being put on the ballot in the form of a referendum. Then
Governor of Pennsylvania The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
, Ed Rendell voiced support for the measure and would be joined by Kathleen McGinty, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, and Dennis Yablonsky, Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development with the trio touring the region to urge for voters to pass the motion. The city would largely be an expansion of Hermitage, whose city government would be retained including the office of mayor and it's nine-member city council. The merger would have kept the various independent school districts intact. The effort would ultimately be defeated, and via the ordinance the issue of merger could not be brought up again until 2009. Despite years of population and industrial decline, Farrell has made progress in rebuilding itself due to new industrial investments on tax abated land and several new housing starts.


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 6,050 people, 2,504 households, and 1,620 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,752 housing units at an average density of . The racial composition of the city was 50.28%
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 ...
, 46.71%
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 ...
, 0.12% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...
, 0.30% from other races, and 2.38% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population. There were 2,504 households, out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.0% 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, 24.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 22.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,659, and the median income for a family was $28,935. Males had a median income of $32,800 versus $20,729 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 city was $14,532. About 24.0% of families and 26.4% 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 47.5% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

The city government provides numerous incentives to entice new businesses to locate within its borders. Today, some of the major contributors to Farrell's business base include: *Duferco Farrell Corp. (steel processing

*First General Services of Western PA. (Property Restoration

*Kalco Metals Inc. (specialty alloys

*NLMK Pennsylvania, a subsidiary of Novolipetsk Steel *Precision Steel Services (roll forming

*Premier Hydraulics Inc. (hydraulic parts manufacturing) *Sharon Custom Metal Forming (roll forming and welding

*Sharon Packing Co. (food processing

*UPMC Horizon Hospital, Farrell Campu

Farrell emerged Feb. 8, 2019 from Financially Distressed Municipalities Act, Act 47 provisions. The Act provides for municipalities that are near bankruptcy. Farrell had been under Act 47 since 1987, as Pennsylvania's first municipality to enter financially distressed municipality status.


Media


Television

Because of Farrell's location near the Pennsylvania/Ohio border, it is served by
WKBN-TV WKBN-TV (channel 27) is a television station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power Fox affiliate WYFX-LD (channel 62); Nexstar also provides certain services to ABC a ...
( CBS), WFMJ-TV ( NBC), WYTV ( ABC), WYFX-LD ( Fox) and WBCB ( CW), all broadcast from nearby Youngstown, OH.


Radio

Farrell is served by '' AM radio stations'' such as WLOA (1470 AM) ( Farrell, PA), WPIC (790 AM) ( Sharon, PA), WKBN (570 AM) ( Youngstown, OH) and '' FM radio stations ''such as WYFM/"Y-103" (102.9 FM) ( Sharon, PA), WLLF/"Sports Radio 96.7" (96.7 FM) ( Mercer, PA), WYLE/"Willie 95.1" (95.1 FM) ( Grove City, PA), WMXY/"Mix 98.9" (98.9 FM) ( Youngstown, OH).


Notable people

* Jack Marin - born October 12, 1944, is an American former professional basketball player. A 201 cm (6-foot, 7-inch) guard/forward from Duke University, Marin was valedictorian of his high school class at Farrell High School. * Russell L. Caldwell, historian and college professor * Gravelle Craig, head men's basketball coach, Bethune-Cookman University * Randy Crowder, former NFL football player with the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
and
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
* Judson Flint, NFL player * E. L. Konigsburg, Newbery Award winning author * Marc L. Marks, politician and lawyer * Duke Mitchell, actor and comedian * Neal Russo, columnist for the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...
and
The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
* Willie Somerset, ABA All-Star professional basketball player * Billy Soose, Middleweight Boxing Champion * Lorenzo Styles, former NFL football player with the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
and St. Louis Rams * Leo Yankevich, new formalist poet and editor


References


External links


City website




{{authority control Cities in Mercer County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1899 Cities in Pennsylvania 1899 establishments in Pennsylvania