Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Carlisle is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 18 miles (29 km) west by southwest of Harrisburg, the State capital. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 17,970. It is the county seat^[1] of Cumberland County.

1 History
2 General Information
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 Notable residents
6 Colleges and universities
7 Other
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History

Carlisle was laid out and settled by Scots-Irish immigrants in 1751 and became the center of their settlement in the Cumberland Valley. It was named after its sister town in Carlisle, England, and even built its former jailhouse (still standing and in use by Cumberland County as general government offices now) to resemble Carlisle Castle. Carlisle was initially part of Lancaster County. Carlisle was incorporated as a borough on April 13, 1782. As authorized by a general borough law of 1851 (amended in 1852), the government is administered by a burgess and a borough council.

In 1787 Carlisle was the scene of a riot instigated by Anti-Federalists in response to a planned march in favor of the US constitution. In 1794 during the Whiskey Rebellion, the troops of Pennsylvania and New Jersey assembled in Carlisle under the leadership of George Washington. The borough was shelled by the Confederates on July 1, 1863, during the Battle of Carlisle, part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Carlisle was well-known at one time for the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which trained Native Americans from all over the United States; one of its notable graduates was athletic hero Jim Thorpe.

Carlisle is also home to Dickinson College, established in 1773 and later chartered in 1783, making it the first college founded in the newly recognized United States. The Dickinson School of Law, founded in 1834 and affiliated with Dickinson College until 1914, is the fifth oldest law school in the United States and the oldest law school in Pennsylvania. It remained independent for over 80 years, until it merged with The Pennsylvania State University in 1997, becoming the Penn State Dickinson School of Law.

The U.S. Army War College, located at the Carlisle Barracks, caters to high-level military personnel and civilians and prepares them for strategic leadership responsibilities. The Carlisle Barracks is the oldest installation in the United States Army and Army's most senior military educational institution. Carlisle is home of the U.S. Army Military Heritage Museum.

[edit] General Information

ZIP codes: 17013, 17015 (17015 was added July 1, 2006 due to "population expansion")
Area code: 717
Local phone code: 218, 226, 240, 241, 243, 245, 249, 254, 258, 374, 385, 386, 422, 440, 448, 486, 609, 701, 713, 960

[edit] Geography

Carlisle is located at 40°12′9″N, 77°11′42″W (40.202553, -77.195016).^[2]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 5.4 square miles (14.1 km²), all of it land.

[edit] Demographics

Borough of Carlisle Population by year [1]
1900	9,626
1910	10,303
1920	10,916
1940	13,984
1980	18,314
1990	18,419
2000	17,970

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 17,970 people, 7,426 households, and 4,010 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,308.9 people per square mile (1,277.8/km²). There were 8,032 housing units at an average density of 1,479.0/sq mi (571.1/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 88.93% White, 6.92% African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.60% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.96% of the population.

There were 7,426 households out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.0% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the borough the population was spread out with 18.6% under the age of 18, 17.2% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $33,969, and the median income for a family was $46,588. Males had a median income of $34,519 versus $25,646 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $21,394. About 8.6% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Notable residents

Charles Jefferson Albright (1816-1883) – was a United States Congressman ^[4]
James Armstrong – was a United States Congressman from Pennsylvania^[4]
John Armstrong, Jr. – was a former United States Secretary of War^[4]
Cheston Lee Eshelman – inventor, aviator, manufacturer (The Cheston L. Eshelman Company) and automaker (see Eshelman)
Jeff Lebo – Current men's basketball coach at Auburn University.
Marianne Moore – was a Modernist American poet and writer.
Billy Owens – former NBA player.
Molly Pitcher – heroine at the Battle of Monmouth during the American Revolutionary War.
Samuel Smith – a U.S. Senator & Maryland Congressman, born in Carlisle in 1752.
Jim Thorpe – considered one of the most versatile athletes in modern sports.
Frederick Watts – U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture (1871-1876) and "Father of Penn State University"
James Wilson – signer of the Declaration of Independence, twice elected to the Continental Congress, a major force in the drafting of the nation's Constitution.
John Osborne – prominent historian and educator. Book reading expert.

[edit] Colleges and universities

[edit] Other

Carlisle is famous to many people for its car shows, put on regularly by Carlisle Events throughout the spring, summer, and fall at the Carlisle Fairgrounds. In addition to normal shows there are speciality shows, among which are GM, Ford, Chrysler, Import/Kit Car and truck shows. Carlisle is also the home of Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB)

Carlisle also is home of the headquarters of the Giant Food supermarkets in Pennsylvania.

Carlisle was home to the Washington Redskins training camp for many years. In 1986, cornerback Darrell Green ran the 40 yard dash at Dickinson College in 4.09 seconds. Although the result was unofficial, it is the fastest legitimate time ever recorded in the 40 yard dash.

[edit] References

^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ ^a ^b ^c (1963) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who.

[edit] External links

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

County seat: Carlisle

Boroughs	Camp Hill \| Carlisle \| Lemoyne \| Mechanicsburg \| Mount Holly Springs \| New Cumberland \| Newburg \| Newville \| Shippensburg \| Shiremanstown \| Wormleysburg

Townships	Cooke \| Dickinson \| East Pennsboro \| Hampden \| Hopewell \| Lower Allen \| Lower Frankford \| Lower Mifflin \| Middlesex \| Monroe \| North Middleton \| North Newton \| Penn \| Shippensburg \| Silver Spring \| South Middleton \| South Newton \| Southampton \| Upper Allen \| Upper Frankford \| Upper Mifflin \| West Pennsboro

Communities and CDPs	Boiling Springs \| Enola \| Grantham \| Lower Allen \| New Kingstown \| Plainfield \| Schlusser \| Summerdale \| West Fairview