Penbrook 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 ...

Dauphin County Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth-most populous city. ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States, founded in 1861 and incorporated July 10, 1894. Penbrook was once named East Harrisburg and still maintains a

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

postal ZIP code. The population was 3,268 at the 2020 census. Penbrook is part of the

Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area The Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area, officially the Harrisburg–Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and also referred to as the Susquehanna Valley, is defined by the Office of Management and Budget as an area consi ...

Geography

Penbrook is located in southern Dauphin County at (40.278445, -76.847463). It is bordered to the south by the city of

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the borough has a total area of , all of which is land.

Parks

Penbrook Park is an recreational area in the southeast corner of the borough and contains ball fields, a large wooden play structure, basketball courts, concession stand, and a picnic pavilion. It was also the home of the former Penbrook Swim Club. The park is connected to the

Capital Area Greenbelt The Capital Area Greenbelt is a looping trail located in the area of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This 20-mile loop around Pennsylvania's capital city provides visitors and tourists with opportunities to hike, ride bicycles, skate, jog, fish, walk t ...

, a link to Riverfront Park and other regional parks. Little Valley Park with was given to the community in 1960 by S. Merl Mosby, who reclaimed a Depression-era

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

with more than 2,000 loads of dirt from nearby Edgemont. It contains a ball field, a play structure with a large purple dinosaur, baseball field and basketball courts and is located near

East Harrisburg Cemetery East Harrisburg Cemetery is an historic cemetery located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The older, eastern section of the cemetery is located within the borough of Penbrook; the western section is located in Susquehanna Township.Reservoir Park, with , is adjacent to the southwest border of the borough, with Levitt Performing Arts Pavilion and the

National Civil War Museum The National Civil War Museum, located at One Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park (Harrisburg), Reservoir Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a private 501c(3) nonprofit promoting the preservation of material culture and sources of information th ...

. Since 1952, the Penbrook Athletic Association has led the community's recreational programs.

Government and politics

There are four voting precincts, one for each ward, though all four polling stations are located in the same room in the Community Building. The mayor is John McDonald.

Borough council

Two council members are elected from each of the borough's four wards. ¹ Council President, ² Council Vice President Council meetings are held on the first Monday of every month at 6:30 pm at the Borough Building. Caucus meetings are held on the third Monday of every month at 6:30 pm at the Borough Building.

Legislators

*State Representative

Justin C. Fleming Justin C. Fleming is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 105th District since 2023, and Co-Chair of the Pennsylvania Future Caucus. Biography Fleming graduated from Susquehanna Township High Sc ...

, Democrat, 105th district *State Senator Patty Kim, Democrat, 15th district *US Representative

Scott Perry Scott Gordon Perry (born May 27, 1962) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard brigadier general who is the U.S. representative for , serving since 2013. The district, numbered as from 2013 to 2019, is centered around Harrisb ...

, Republican, 10th district

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 3,044 people, 1,307 households, and 764 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 1,398 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 77.33%

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 ...

, 15.24%

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 ...

, 0.23% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 1.87% from other races, and 3.71% 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 4.60% of the population. There were 1,307 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% 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, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.5% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.04. In the borough the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $35,341, and the median income for a family was $44,375. Males had a median income of $32,128 versus $26,061 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 $18,274. About 4.4% of families and 6.2% 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 8.7% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Opening in 1901, and with additions in the 1930s and 1950s, the Penbrook School initially educated the students through 12 years, but later only educated children through 10th grade. Older students transferred to John Harris HS or Susquehanna Township High School. In 1955, the school became part of the new Central Dauphin School District. The building served as an elementary school until 1982 and now serves as the home to Infinity Charter School. A reunion is held for former students in even-numbered years. St. Margaret Mary Parish School of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg The Diocese of Harrisburg () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in south central Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philade ...

was established in March 1948, with the

School Sisters of Notre Dame School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide religious institute of Roman Catholic sisters founded in Bavaria in 1833 and devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and min ...

teaching. Additions were made to the building in 1958, 1985, 2000 and 2011. In 2009 both 3-year-old and Pre-K programs were added. After the completion of a new church off campus, the original church was turned into a gym and multi-purpose area for the school and parish community.Echoes of 1922 Published by The Senior Class of Penbrook High School

References

External links

Penbrook Borough official website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1861 Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area Boroughs in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania 1894 establishments in Pennsylvania