Southwest Greensburg 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 Westmoreland County,

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. The population was 2,155 as of the 2010 census.

History

In 1769, John Peter Miller was granted provisional ownership of land within the current-day boundaries of Southwest Greensburg, and he received full ownership rights in 1789. Miller was told that the first settler traditionally has the right to name a community, and when Miller was asked what name he preferred for the area, he responded with "What you please?" As a result, the community - at that point a mere collection of farms - bore the unusual name "What You Please?" for many decades, in what was undoubtedly an expression of settlers' sense of humor. In 1887, Richard Coulter and

George Franklin Huff George Franklin Huff (July 16, 1842 – April 18, 1912) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography George F. Huff was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He attended the public schools in Midd ...

, both of whom had attained wealth in the local coal industry, saw the possibilities of developing the area as a residential community. Coulter and Huff purchased land from a farmer, John Mace, in 1887, and a community consisting of 413 lots was laid out. The first recorded use of the name "Southwest Greensburg" occurred in 1888, when Coulter and Huff's plan was submitted to the county courthouse. Southwest Greensburg was incorporated as a borough on November 15, 1890. The first borough election was held on February 17, 1891, in which John Putnam was elected as the borough's first burgess (mayor), together with other borough officials. A key element of the community's development was the Greensburg & Hempfield Street Railway, which built a trolley line on Greene Street in 1890. Shortly afterward, the company built an amusement park called "Electric Park" to increase trolley traffic. The boundaries of "Electric Park" were (approximately) Greene Street, Main Street, Welty Street, and Weaver Street. Nothing of "Electric Park" remains, which was eventually redeveloped as residential lots. The trolley line was later acquired by West Penn Railways and operated until January 3, 1937.

Geography

Southwest Greensburg is located at . 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 0.4 square mile (1.0 km²), 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 2000, there were 2,398 people, 1,097 households, and 645 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 1,187 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 96.62%

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 ...

, 1.75%

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 ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.17% 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 ...

, 0.38% from other races, and 0.92% 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 0.46% of the population. There were 1,097 households, of which 24.2% had children under 18 living with them, 44.2% 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, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.2% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone who was 65 years of age or older living alone. The average household size was 2.19, and the average family size was 2.85. The borough's population was spread out, with 21.1% under 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 85.8 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $35,750, and the median income for a family was $43,929. Males had a median income of $31,219 versus $24,613 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 $18,281. About 5.8% of families and 6.8% 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 7.1% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those aged 65 or over.

Local government

On August 13, 2018, Carol Palcic was appointed mayor by the borough's council after the previous mayor resigned to become Southwest Greensburg's first female mayor. In May 2020, Southwest Greensburg councilor David Thomas came under fire for hurling and screaming racial slurs after an incident with his dog.

References

{{authority control Boroughs in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1769 Pittsburgh metropolitan area 1890 establishments in Pennsylvania