Upper Darby Township
| Upper Darby Township | |||
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| Nickname : UD | |||
 Upper Darby with the city of Philadelphia in the background |
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| Location in Pennsylvania | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1786 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | Pennsylvania | ||
| County : | Delaware County | ||
| Coordinates : | 39 ° 57 ′ N , 75 ° 18 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 ) | ||
| Residents : | 81,821 (as of: 2000) | ||
| Population density : | 4,010.8 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 20.4 km 2 (approx. 8 mi 2 ) of which 20.4 km 2 (approx. 8 mi 2 ) is land |
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| Postal code : | 19082 | ||
| Area code : | +1 610 | ||
| FIPS : | 42-79000 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 1216394 | ||
| Website : | www.upperdarby.org | ||
| Mayor : | F. Raymond Shay | ||
 Location within Delaware County |
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The Upper Darby Township is (despite the name Township ) a Home Rule Municipality in Delaware County in the US state of Pennsylvania . It is 7.62 square miles (19.74 km²) in size and with (2000) 81,821 people the largest area in population in the county and the fifth largest city in the state. It forms an important traffic junction in local traffic.
geography
Upper Darby is about 5.8 miles (9.33 km) west of the city center and just beyond the city limits of Philadelphia, which is marked at this point by the Cobbs Creek . US Highway 1 forms the north-western border, while the south- western border covers large parts of Darby Creek . The settlement area is 60 to 260 feet (18-79 m) above sea level and extends over a gently sloping ridge to the southeast to the Delaware River , which rises between the two streams and belongs to the Piedmont , the eastern capping of the Appalachians .
The parish is bordered to the north and east by Philadelphia and Borough Millbourne , to the south by Boroughs Yeadon , Lansdowne and Clifton Heights and Darby Township ; to the southwest it is bordered by Ridley Township and Springfield Township and to the northwest by Haverford Township . The East Lansdowne Borough is located in the southeast is completely enclosed by the municipality of Upper Darbys. In the south there is another exclave bounded clockwise by the boroughs Lansdowne, Yeadon, Darby Aldan .
history
The first settlers in today's municipality were probably around 100 Swedes who lived in a small colony around 1653/54. The Swedish Cabin , a log cabin from that time, which stands on Darby Creek, dates from this time. The township was spun off from Darby Township in 1786. In 1798, today's Delaware County was spun off from the then responsible Chester County .
The two small rivers on the edges of the municipal area allowed the establishment of numerous mills. Favored by the economic development, the population rose from around 800 in 1800 to almost 5000 around 1890. The construction of the Market – Frankford Line until 1907 intensified this development even further. By the 1960s, Upper Darby had overtaken cities like Harrisburg and Bethlehem . There has been a strong influx of African Americans and Asians over the past few decades.
The city sees itself today as a link between the city of Philadelphia and the suburbs; it is believed to combine the advantages of both types of settlement.
Economy and Infrastructure
The closest highways are Interstate 476 to the west, Interstate 95 to the south on the banks of the Delaware, and Interstate 76 , which runs along the banks of the Schuylkill River on the edge of downtown Philadelphia. They are all about 4.5 to 5 miles (8 km) from downtown as the crow flies.
Pennsylvania Route 3 runs through the parish itself from Philadelphia to West Chester . It's called West Chester Pike here and forms the most important east-west axis in the extension of Market Street in Philadelphia. It is also by far the widest street in the city. US Highway 1 touches the community area in the northwest.
Upper Darby plays an important role as a western bridgehead for mass transit to and from Philadelphia. The central transport hub is the 69th Street Terminal , the western end point of the Market – Frankford Line on the street of the same name. From there, the Norristown High-Speed Line , the two overland trams of the Media – Sharon Hill Line and numerous bus routes go west .
The area around the 69th Street Terminal is now the business and service center of the city. There are also a number of (smaller) shopping centers that are spread across the municipality. Large parts of the settlement area are characterized by small-scale development. There is practically no industry apart from the various workshops of the transport companies.
There are three major cemeteries in Upper Darby; the Fernwood Cemetery on the border with Philadelphia and to the west the Har Jehuda Cemetery and the park-like Arlington Cemetery . McCall Golf and Country Club is on the northern tip of the parish .
Personalities
Sons and Daughters of the Township
- Tina Fey (born 1970), actress
- Jamie Kennedy (born 1970), actor
- Cheri Oteri (born 1962), actress
- Todd Rundgren (born 1948), singer, musician and producer
- Mike Scioscia (* 1958), baseball player and manager
Other personalities
- Lloyd Alexander (1924-2007), writer
literature
- DiFilippo, Thomas J .: The history and development of Upper Darby Township , 2nd ed.Upper Darby Historical Society, Upper Darby, 1992.
Web links
- Upper Darby Historical Society (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Upper Darby Township: TOWNSHIP HISTORY ( Memento from July 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive )