Orrstown 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
Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Franklin County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 155,932. Its county seat is Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Cha ...
, United States. The population was 214 at the 2020 census.
History
Orrstown was founded in 1833 by the Orr brothers. It is surrounded by
Southampton Township in Franklin County, on the old state road from
Shippensburg to
Upper Strasburg. Settlements were made in that neighborhood as early as 1738. Before the completion of the Pennsylvania Railroad, horses and cattle were annually driven down the state road (now
Pennsylvania Route 533/Orrstown Road) to eastern markets. The town was laid out in 1833, by John, William and James Orr. At first, they called it "Southampton", after the township; but in 1835, when application was made for a post office to be called Southampton, the Post Office Department refused because there was already a post office of that name.
George Chambers
The Hon. George Michael Chambers ORTT (4 October 1928 – 4 November 1997) , who represented the area in Congress, named the post office "Orrstown", and the name has since been attached to the town.
It was incorporated as a borough on May 3, 1847, and in 1878 the town had one hotel, two stores, one carriage factory, and four churches: Lutheran, Presbyterian,
United Brethren and
Winebrennerian. The populations was then 325.
[I.H. M'Cauley, ''Historical Sketch of Franklin County, Penn.'' (1878)]
Geography
Orrstown is located in northeastern Franklin County at the intersection of Pennsylvania Routes
433
Year 433 ( CDXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Maximus (or, less frequently, year 1186 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 433 for ...
(Rowe Run Road) and
533
__NOTOC__
Year 533 ( DXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinianus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1286 ''Ab urbe condita''). The den ...
(Orrstown Road). PA 433 leads northwestward to
Roxbury and south 5 miles to the
Letterkenny Army Depot
Letterkenny Army Depot (originally Letterkenny Ordnance Depot), the Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence (CITE) for Air Defense and Tactical Missile Systems, was established in early 1942. Its leadership began recruiting civilian personn ...
.
Chambersburg
Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Ma ...
, the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
, is to the south via PA 433 and
U.S. Route 11
U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...
. PA 533 leads east five miles to
Shippensburg and west to
Upper Strasburg.
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.
The borough sits on a low ridge between
Conodoguinet Creek
Conodoguinet Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in South central Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2004. The name is Native American, and means "A Long Way with Many Bends".
Cono ...
to the north and its tributary, Muddy Run to the south.
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 231 people, 79 households, and 59 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 85 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 99.57%
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 ...
, 0.43% from
other 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 0.43% of the population.
There were 79 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.8% 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, 3.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 958 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 851 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $38,542, and the median income for a family was $39,583. Males had a median income of $27,188 versus $21,250 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 $14,346. None of the families and 1.4% of the population were living 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 ...
.
References
{{authority control
Populated places established in 1815
Boroughs in Franklin County, Pennsylvania
1815 establishments in Pennsylvania