Norwood 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 ...

that is located in

Delaware County, Pennsylvania Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the List of counties in Pennsylv ...

, United States. The population was 5,890 at the time of the 2010 census.

History

The Morton Morton House is located at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the Muckinipattis Creek and Darby Creek. It was built circa 1750 by Morton Morton (1701–1781), the great-grandson of Marten Martenson, who was a settler in

New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

in 1654. Morton Morton was also a first cousin to John Morton, one of the signers of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. The Morton Morton House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2000.

Geography

Norwood is located in southeastern Delaware County at (39.888312, -75.297178). It is bordered to the northeast by Glenolden, to the east by Folcroft, to the south by Tinicum Township, to the west by Prospect Park, and to the west and north by Ridley Township. Norwood is also bordered by Darby Creek to the south and the Muckinipattis Creek to the east. 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 ...

, Norwood has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.54%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, the racial makeup of the borough was 91.0%

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 ...

, 1.0%

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 ...

0.0% Native American, 4.6% Asian, 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race comprised 5.4% of the population. This is compared to the 2010 census, where the racial makeup of the borough was 95.0%

, 1.5%

, 0.1% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more race, with

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 composing 1.4% of the population . 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 5,985 people, 2,286 households, and 1,536 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 2,363 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 97.56%

, 1.10%

, 0.05% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.18% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population. There were 2,286 households, out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% 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, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.26. In the borough the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $47,043, and the median income for a family was $54,983. Males had a median income of $41,667 versus $28,315 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 $20,513. About 4.6% of families and 7.6% 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 8.5% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Norwood lies within the Interboro School District. Norwood School serves students in grades K-8, and Interboro High School serves students in grades 9–12. The Kindergarten Academy, located in Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, also serves pupils who reside in Norwood at the Kindergarten level. St. James Regional Catholic School in Ridley Park is the area Catholic school. It formed in 2012 from a merger of St. Gabriel Catholic School, located within the Norwood borough boundaries, and St. Madeline-St. Rose in Ridley Park. St. Gabriel opened in 1960, with another segment of the building opening in 1962. Former St. Gabriel teacher Denise Crane stated in a

letter to the editor A letter to the editor (LTE) is a Letter (message), letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through ...

to the '' Delco Times'' that students came from Norwood, Folcroft, Glenolden, and Prospect Park. - Letter to the editor Donna Kowal, who began teaching at St. James in 1968, recalled that there were over 1,000 students at the time; each grade level had about 200 students, with about four classes with around 50 students each, but that by 2012 the student population figures had sharply declined. The final enrollment was around 164.

Notable people

* Bill Foster, former Duke basketball coach * Grover C. Talbot, Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County (1925–1934), 116th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1933–1934)

Transportation

As of 2017, there were of public roads in Norwood, of which were maintained by the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...

(PennDOT) and were maintained by the borough. U.S. Route 13 (Chester Pike) is the main road which runs through the borough, leading northeast to Center City

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and southwest to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. Norwood station is a SEPTA Regional Rail station on the

Wilmington/Newark Line The Wilmington/Newark Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system in the Philadelphia area. The line serves southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, with stations in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, and ...

that provides service to Center City Philadelphia and to Wilmington and

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 31,454. The University of Delaware is ...

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

also operates the Route 114 bus that makes stops on Chester Pike in Norwood along its route between the Darby Transportation Center in Darby and Wawa Station in Middletown Township.

References

External links

Borough of Norwood official websiteNorwood PA Historical Society
{{authority control Populated places established in 1872 Boroughs in Delaware County, Pennsylvania 1872 establishments in Pennsylvania