Meridian is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Butler Township,

Butler County, Pennsylvania Butler County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 193,763. Its county seat is Butler. Butler County was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named in honor of Gen ...

, United States. The population was 3,881 at the 2010 census. Meridian was the site of an attempted assassination of 45th and 47th President of the United States

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in July 2024.

History

Meridian was linked to

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

, Evans City and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in 1908 by the Pittsburgh, Harmony, Butler and New Castle Railway, an

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

trolley line. The line closed on June 15, 1931, and the trolleys were replaced by buses.

Attempted assassination of Donald Trump

The then Former President

was shot at during a campaign rally being held at the Butler Farm Show fairground, partly in Meridian, on July 13, 2024. Trump and at least two other attendees were injured in the attack and one attendee was killed. The attacker,

Thomas Matthew Crooks Thomas Matthew Crooks (September 20, 2003 – July 13, 2024) was an American man who attempted to assassinate then-former U.S. president Donald Trump, who at the time was the presumptive Republican Party nominee for the 2024 presidential el ...

, was then fatally shot by a

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

sniper. Trump later returned to the same Farm Show fairground for a second campaign rally on October 6, 2024.

Geography

Meridian is located in the western part of Butler Township at (40.854415, −79.956359). It is bordered to the east and partly to the north by the Homeacre-Lyndora CDP. Pennsylvania Route 68 forms the northern edge of the Meridian CDP, leading east to downtown

and southwest to Evans City. 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 CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.16%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 3,794 people, 1,489 households, and 1,137 families living in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,524 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 99.24% White, 0.18% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, and 0.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.37% of the population. There were 1,489 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.7% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.93. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 21.3% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $48,939, and the median income for a family was $57,893. Males had a median income of $44,458 versus $27,933 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 CDP was $22,962. About 3.9% of families and 6.3% 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 2.3% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The Butler Township Police Department is the local law enforcement agency.

Education

It is in the Butler Area School District. Butler Area Intermediate High School and Butler Area Senior High School are the district's comprehensive secondary schools. The district formerly operated Meridian Elementary School, which closed in 2015.

References

{{Butler County, Pennsylvania Census-designated places in Butler County, Pennsylvania Attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania