Jeannette, PA
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Jeannette is a city in
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the state of Pennsylvania, United States, in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census the population was 354,663. The county seat is Greensburg and the most populous community is ...
, United States. The population was 8,780 at the 2020 census. Jeannette was founded in 1888 and named after Jeannette Hartupee McKee, the wife of one of the city's founders, H. Sellers McKee. It is part of the
Pittsburgh metropolitan area Greater Pittsburgh is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania, United States. The region includes Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Pittsburgh's urban core county and economic hub, and s ...
.


History

Perhaps the oldest historical reference to the area that became Jeannette is the role the area played in the Pontiac War in 1763. The Bushy Run Battlefield marks the spot where Colonel Henry Boquet led the British and American troops to defeat the Indians in a battle on the 5th and 6 August that year. This victory is credited with helping to prevent the capture of Fort Pitt, and it served the purpose of reopening communication and supply lines. Today, this historical landmark is the site of a museum, nature trails, picnic areas, and an annual reenactment of the Battle of Bushy Run. First incorporated as a borough on June 7, 1889,"Jeannette hopes to reclaim glory of manufacturing heyday"
, Tribune Review, January 28, 2007
Jeannette earned the nickname as "the glass city" in recognition of the numerous glass plants founded in the area, with those factories contributing to the city's original stature as the first large manufacturing town in Westmoreland County. In fact, the impact of the glass industry was so significant that the city's name actually comes from Jeannette E. Hartupee McKee, the wife of H. Sellers McKee, a local industrialist who cofounded the Chambers and McKee Glass Works and was a member of the elite
South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club was a Pennsylvania corporation that operated an exclusive and secretive retreat at a mountain lake in St. Michael, Pennsylvania, near the community of South Fork. Its members were more than 50 extremel ...
of
Johnstown Flood The Johnstown Flood, sometimes referred to locally as the Great Flood of 1889, occurred on Friday, 31 May 1889, after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam, located on the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River, upstream of th ...
fame. Mckee and his partner J.A. Chambers also have the distinction of naming Jeannette's main street, Clay Avenue after their financial backer, Richard W. Clay. On January 1, 1938, Jeannette became a third class city with Attorney John M. OConnell as the first mayor. At times, there were as many as 7 significant factories operating in the city of Jeannette including some of the most well known in the history of the glass industry. Names like Jeannette Glass; Fort Pitt Glass; the Pittsburgh Lamp, Brass and Glass Company; American-Saint Gobain, Westmoreland Glass; and others all supplied the country with everything from plate glass windows, to bottles, to milk glass, and much more for many decades. Some estimates over the years indicate that Jeannette once produced somewhere between 70 and 85% of the world's glass. Unfortunately, Jeannette's glass industry was one of the early United States industry victims of cheap, foreign competition that made it less expensive to produce glass overseas and today only two glass factories remain in the city. Jeannette's manufacturing history doesn't end with the glass industry. Today's
Elliott Company Elliott Company designs, manufactures, installs, and services turbo-machinery for prime movers and rotating machinery. Headquartered in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, Elliott Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japan-based Ebara Corporation, a ...
represents an evolution dating back to 1914 when William Swan Elliott moved his company to Jeannette. The Elliott Company, owned by the Carrier Corporation from 1957 until 1979 and by United Technologies Corporation until a 1987 buyout that returned the company to a privately owned status, only to become an
Ebara Corporation Ebara Corporation is a publicly traded manufacturing company based in Tokyo, Japan which makes environmental and industrial machinery such as pumps and turbines. It is the owner of the Elliott Company in the United States and Sumoto S.r.l. in Ita ...
subsidiary in 2000, has always had a solid reputation in the dynamo, turbine, and large rotating equipment industry. In 1952, the company produced the first diesel-engine
turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into th ...
used in a racecar and subsequently built more than 40,000 more of them for other diesel applications. Throughout the 1970s, local residents routinely witnessed a revolving door of trains hauling parts into the plant on North 4th Street and hauling the huge turbine engines back down the tracks. Today, the Elliott Company is the city's largest employer. Jeannette is also the manufacturing home of Jensen Steam Engine Mfg. Co., Inc., which produces small working models of steam engines and turbines. The Jensen shop is only a few blocks from the Elliott plant.
Monsour Medical Center Monsour Medical Center was a 100-bed hospital when it opened in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, in 1958. There was an eleven-story circular tower added in 1971 that increased the total number of beds to 250. The hospital was founded by brothers Willi ...
was a 100-bed hospital when it opened in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, in 1958. The Hospital was state-of-the-art in its day, but later fell into financial trouble and was closed in the early 2000's. In 2018, the Elliott Company was approved to purchase the former Jeannette Glass site and expand their operations to downtown Jeannette. The facility could become operational by 2020. The Pennsylvania Rubber Works, which moved to Jeannette from Erie, Pennsylvania, around 1903, was yet another key part of the city's significant industrial base. Not only did this factory become a significant supplier of play balls (basketballs, footballs, tennis balls, etc.) and carpet underlay as part of General Tire in its later years; but the original Pennsylvania Rubber Works provided products for
Jeeps Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Cor ...
and gas masks during World War II.


Geography

Jeannette is located at (40.328773, -79.613997). 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 city has a total area of , all land.


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 2010, there were 9,654 people, 4,630 households, and 2,949 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,139 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 77.81%
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 ...
, 20.19%
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 ...
, 0.08% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.04%
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 ...
, 0.20% from other races, and 1.60% 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 0.50% of the population. There were 4,630 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% 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, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.89. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males. The median income for a household in the city in 2011 was $31,498. The median income for a family was $37, 038. Males had a median income of $32,413 versus $21,702 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 $15,961. About 10.9% of families and 15.0% 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 21.2% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.


Religion

In 1943, the city went before the Supreme Court to defend an ordinance that banned distributing religious materials door to door. Several members of the
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...
challenged the constitutionality of the law but were defeated in '' Douglas v. City of Jeannette''.


Parks and recreation

The Jeannette Parks and Recreation Department maintains eight parks which variously include playgrounds, ball fields, and basketball courts.


Government

Jeannette maintains a Police Department, a Fire Department, a Public Library, a Parks and Recreation department, and a department of Public Works. The city operates two refuse trucks daily, covering residential and commercial accounts, five days a week. Commercial accounts are served on a pre-set schedule, either daily or as needed. Recycling is mandatory in Jeannette. The city employs a community development coordinator and staff to assist residents.


Education

Jeannette City School District includes McKee Elementary School and Jeannette Junior/Senior High School.


Notable people

*
Steve August Steve Paul August (born September 4, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Seattle Seahawks. Through his eight years with the Seahawks he ...
, NFL offensive tackle for Seattle Seahawks (1977–84) and Pittsburgh Steelers (1984) * Karen D. Beyer, former State Representative for the 131st district in the
Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
* Buster Clarkson,
Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...
player, lived in Jeannette after he retired * Demetrious Cox, American football player * Claire Cribbs, two-time All-American basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh (1933–34 and 1934–35) * Ambrose Battista De Paoli, Roman Catholic Archbishop and nuncio * Frank Fitzsimmons, president of
International Brotherhood of Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a diverse members ...
1967–1981, born in Jeannette *
Mike Getto Michael J. Getto (September 18, 1905 – August 27, 1960) was a professional football coach in the National Football League for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1942. That season, he coached Brooklyn to a 3–8 record. Prior to his coaching caree ...
, All-American football player at the University of Pittsburgh and football coach for the National Football League's Brooklyn Dodgers (1942) * Monica Lee Gradischek, voice actress *
Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombone, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tub ...
, jazz trombonist, born in Jeannette *
Dick Hoak Richard John Hoak (born December 8, 1939) is an American former professional football player and coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Steelers as a running back. Hoak played college football ...
, former
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
running back (1969–70) and running backs coach (1972–2006), born in Jeannette * Jack G. Merrell, United States Air Force four-star general *
Vaughn Monroe Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter and big band leader who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording and another f ...
, 1940s–1950s bandleader, singer and actor; attended high school in Jeannette *
Marissa Moss Marissa Moss (born September 29, 1959, Jeannette, Pennsylvania) is an American children's book author. Work Moss's work spans the many ages of a child. She started her first career making picture books. ''Amelia's Notebook'' was her first deviat ...
, author of more than a dozen children's books who was born in Jeannette and moved to California at age 2 * Terrelle Pryor, former high school quarterback for Jeannette Jayhawks, starting quarterback for
Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...
, and
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
quarterback and wide receiver * LaMont "ShowBoat" Robinson, basketball player Harlem Roadkings, Harlem Clowns and businessman * William A. Shomo, ace fighter pilot and World War II Medal of Honor recipient


References

{{authority control Cities in Pennsylvania Cities in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1888 Pittsburgh metropolitan area 1888 establishments in Pennsylvania