Shippingport
| Shippingport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Location in Pennsylvania
|
|||
| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1910 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | Pennsylvania | ||
| County : | Beaver County | ||
| Coordinates : | 40 ° 38 ′ N , 80 ° 25 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 ) | ||
| Residents : | 237 (status: 2000) | ||
| Population density : | 27.9 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 9.3 km 2 (approx. 4 mi 2 ) of which 8.5 km 2 (approx. 3 mi 2 ) is land |
||
| Height : | 222 m | ||
| Postal code : | 15077 | ||
| FIPS : | 42-70376 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 1214890 | ||
| Website : | www.shippingportpa.com | ||
| Mayor : | Helen Scott | ||
Shippingport is a borough in Beaver County , Pennsylvania . At the 2000 census, 237 inhabitants lived on 9.3 km². The town is best known as the location of the first nuclear power plant in the eastern United States, the Shippingport nuclear power plant .
Shippingport is located west of Beaver County on the left bank of the Ohio River . The site is dominated by two power plants - the Beaver Valley nuclear power plant in the west and the coal-fired Bruce Mansfield power plant one kilometer to the northeast. Shippingport's residential areas are located between these two huge power plants. The Pennsylvania Route 168 bridge connects to Midland on the opposite bank.
history
In the 19th century, Shippingport was little more than a small settlement at a ferry terminal, formerly known as Christler's Landing . The place gained some fame in the 1850s as a shipyard for some river steamers. Shippingport became a borought in 1910, the community arose from the eastern part of the Greene Township and part of the Raccoon Township .
In 1954 construction began on the United States' first civil nuclear reactor, the Shippingport nuclear power plant, which was in operation until 1982. The first reactor of the much larger Beaver Valley nuclear power plant was on the grid from 1976, followed in the same year by Unit 1 of the Bruce Mansfield power plant. Shippingport was chosen because of its location on the Ohio, the river supplies the power plants with cooling water and serves as a transport route for the enormous amounts of coal.
Web links
- beavercountytowns.com History of Shippingport (English)