Oreland, Pennsylvania
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Oreland is a census-designated place (CDP) in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just outside of the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia, with a ZIP code of 19075. The population was 5,509 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] Geography
Oreland is located at GR1.
(40.114510, -75.179880)According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.8 km² (1.5 [[square
[edit] History
Oreland, as part of Springfield Township, was settled as one of William Penn's manors.
In 1686, a man named Thomas Fitzwater discovered vast lime deposits on his land in Oreland. He erected a kiln to process it which, by 1693, had attracted the attention of William Penn. Penn ordered a highway built from the port of the Delaware River to the kiln. Named Limekiln Pike, and still in existence today, it was one of the first roads in the area. These lime deposits and the ore deposits also found gave Oreland its name. Mining and farming would dominate Oreland's economy until the 20th century. The 20th century marked Oreland's turn into a residential suburb of Philadelphia, as it remains today.
The village of Oreland was not laid out until 1889 near the North Penn Railroad running along the east side of town (currently SEPTA's R5 line). The Plymouth Railroad ran from Conshohocken to Oreland through Plymouth and Flourtown. The tracks were mostly removed in the 1980s. The path where the trains used to run begins Northeast of the Oreland Station Apartments next to Ehrenpfort Road and runs Southwest towards Flourtown. The actual tracks, which still connect to SEPTA's R5 lines, end near the corner of Montgomery Avenue and Lyster Road. The path continues all the way to Flourtown, although in the 1990s the path was cut at Oreland Mill Road by housing built on both sides. The remainder of the path today is used primarily by children, runners and bikers.
A bronze tablet, installed in 1928, marks where Mistfield Farms was located. Mistfield Farms served as George Washington's headquarters while in neighboring Whitemarsh from November 2 until December 11, 1777 during the Revolutionary War . The location of the farm straddles Oreland and Whitemarsh.
A person to note from Oreland is Chris Matthews.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 5,509 people, 2,080 households, and 1,543 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,466.9/km² (3,812.1/mi²). There were 2,115 housing units at an average density of 563.2/km² (1,463.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.19% White, 12.09% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.49% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.91% of the population.
There were 2,080 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $54,809, and the median income for a family was $67,542. Males had a median income of $50,260 versus $34,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $24,256. About 4.5% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA