Wrightsville, Pennsylvania

Wrightsville, Pennsylvania Wrights Ferry
Borough
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	York
Settled	1811
Incorporated	1834
Government
• Type	Borough Council
• Mayor	Neil Habecker
• Council President	Greg Scritchfield
• Council Vice President	Janelle Shannon
• Council members	Kathy Abel Crystal Bolton Edward Sipes Scott Loercher
Area
• Total	0.6 sq mi (2 km2)
Elevation	390 ft (120 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	2,310
• Density	3,900/sq mi (1,500/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Zip code	17368
Area code(s)	717
Website	www.wrightsvilleborough.com

Wrightsville is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,310 at the 2010 census. Wrightsville borough has a police department, historic society, and a volunteer fire company.

History

File:Bridge to wrightsville, pa.jpg

Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge in 2014 (foreground)

The world's longest covered bridge, at 5,960 feet (1,820 m), once spanned the Susquehanna from Wrightsville to neighboring Columbia in Lancaster County. Built in 1814, it was destroyed by high water and ice in 1832. A replacement bridge was burned the night of June 28, 1863, by state militia during the Gettysburg Campaign in the American Civil War. Confederate troops under John Brown Gordon formed a bucket brigade to save the town from fire. Yet another replacement covered bridge was destroyed by a windstorm a few years later.

The final bridge, the Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge, was a steel open-air bridge constructed in 1896. It was razed in the early 1960s because of obsolescence and restructuring of the railroad industry.

Wrightsville was the northern terminus of the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, which extended to Havre de Grace, Maryland.

In 2007, Wrightsville was the chosen location for the rekindling of the War of the Roses between the York Revolution and the Lancaster Barnstormers baseball teams. Wrightsville was chosen for its location on the Susquehanna River, the boundary between York and Lancaster counties.

The Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge and Wrightsville Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Wrightsville is located at (40.024481, -76.531221).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	672		—
1850	1,310		94.9%
1860	1,360		3.8%
1870	1,544		13.5%
1880	1,776		15.0%
1890	1,912		7.7%
1900	2,266		18.5%
1910	2,051		−9.5%
1920	1,943		−5.3%
1930	2,247		15.6%
1940	2,120		−5.7%
1950	2,104		−0.8%
1960	2,345		11.5%
1970	2,668		13.8%
1980	2,365		−11.4%
1990	2,396		1.3%
2000	2,223		−7.2%
2010	2,310		3.9%
Est. 2014	2,291		−0.8%
Sources:

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,223 people, 955 households, and 606 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,572.8 people per square mile (1,384.4/km²). There were 1,009 housing units at an average density of 1,621.7 per square mile (628.4/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.62% White, 0.40% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.54% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.02% of the population.

There were 955 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the borough the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $37,379, and the median income for a family was $47,083. Males had a median income of $33,587 versus $23,073 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,711. About 4.9% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

Fire/EMS protection

Although fire protection in Wrightsville Borough can be traced back to the early 1800s, it was until 1887 that the Wrightsville Steam Fire Engine and Hose Company #1 (York County Station 41) was organized. The fire department protects nearly 10,000 citizens in Wrightsville Borough and Hellam Township with an all-volunteer staffing of over 35 active firefighters, as well as a support staff and a junior fire department (ages 14–17).

The Wrightsville Fire Department has been recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania after meeting or exceeding the requirements set forth in the Voluntary Rescue Service Recognition Program. The Wrightsville Fire Department is also a participating department with the Commonwealth's professional certification program in which over 95% of its members are trained to the National Proboard Firefighter 1 & 2 certification levels. The department maintains an average response time of less than two minutes, and a crew of about 11 personnel per fire call. This is considered above standards in today's volunteer fire service. In 2014, the department responded to a total of 867 calls for service.

The department is located at 125 South Second Street in Wrightsville Borough. The current facility was completed in 1979, and houses three pieces of fire apparatus: a 1996 Seagrave rescue/pumper (Rescue/Squad 41-1), a 2005 Seagrave pumper (Wagon 41), a 2005 Ford 550/Semo rescue (Rescue 41-2), and a 5 Ton Military Service Truck (Utility 41). The fire company utilizes the most updated technology available to firefighters in today's fire service.

Aside from fire/rescue services, Station 41 provides Quick Response Services (QRS) to residents in Wrightsville Borough and Hellam Township. This includes basic emergency medical care provided by Emergency Medical Technicians and Emergency Medical Responders until transporting EMS units arrive. The average response time for QRS calls were 1 Minute in 2014, again, above standards.

Basic Life Support/Transport coverage is provided by the White Rose Ambulance. Their headquarters is located in York City, but have a sub-station for Ambulance 41 located at the Hellam Township Municipal Building. Although they share the same station number as the Wrightsville Fire Department, there is no affiliation. Advance Life Support/Medic coverage is provided by Memorial Hospital Medic 102. Medic 102-3 is located at a sub-station in Hellam Township.

Education

Wrightsville is served by the Eastern York School District (one of 500 Pennsylvania public school districts). Students may also attend one of the Commonwealth's cyber charter schools at no additional cost to the family or student. The local school district pays the Pennsylvania Department of Education set tuition fee to the cyber charter school that the student chooses to attend. By Pennsylvania law, charter school students have access to all extracurriculars and sports programs at the local public school district. Alternatively, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania permits parents to home school their children or they may attend a private school.

Events

Mud Runs are a popular activity involving mud. Participants run a distance of 3 miles to as long as 10 miles, while crawling through mud bogs, and battling other obstacles. Popular mud runs include Tough Mudder, CerebRun, and Warrior Dash. CerebRun will be held in Wrightsville, Pa.

References

www.cerebrun.com/events

Further reading

• Marcello, Ronald E. Small Town America in World War II: War Stories from Wrightsville, Pennsylvania (University of North Texas Press, 2014) 452 pp.

External links

• Official website
• Wrightsville Steam Fire Engine & Hose Company #1 Website
• WrightsvillePA community website, news, video, and information about the town
• Historic Wrightsville, Inc
• 24HR DVDs local DVD rental machine with Borough council videos as well as Top Hollywood movies before Anyone else!
• http://www.cerebrun.com