Ridley Park, Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 39°52′47″N 75°19′32″W / 39.87972°N 75.32556°W / 39.87972; -75.32556
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ridley Park, Pennsylvania
Ridley
610 and 484
FIPS code42-64832
Websitewww.ridleyparkborough.org

Ridley Park is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,002 at the 2010 census. Ridley Park is the home of Boeing's CH-47 Chinook helicopter division.[4]

History

Native American

The

Lenni Lenape Nation established small permanent villages along the river and its main tributaries. Land adjacent to Stoney Creek in Ridley Township has been identified as a Native American town site. Historians also believe that additional villages may have existed at other locations along Stoney Creek and Crum Creek in Ridley Park.[5]
Native Americans significantly influenced the built environment through their network of paths laid out for travel and communication purposes. Their footpaths through the densely forested countryside grew into the first roads of the area. Chester Pike is believed to have developed from a footpath created by the Lenni Lenape as their main thoroughfare in the area.[6]

Colonial

The borough is named after a place in

subscription school was founded in 1800 on a site at Chester Pike and Myrtle Avenue. This was one of the first schools in Delaware County.[5]

Railroad suburb

Ridley Park was founded by Isaac Hinckley in 1871. He was the President of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad.[9] He wanted to expand the company's rail line to gain more business in the same way the Pennsylvania Railroad had earlier created a Main Line from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia to Paoli. The Pennsylvania Railroad bought up farmland and developed towns all along its rail line. City dwellers, seeking relief from the urban crowds with their potential to spread malaria, a disease that was a major health concern at the time, quickly purchased the new homes being built.[9]

Seeing the success of this, Hinckley came up with the idea of putting in a rail line that would pass through

Chester Pike to the area now known as Ridley Park.[11]

In an effort to avoid his previous bad experience, in May 1871, Hinckley formed an association to acquire the land. Hinckley hired Robert Morris Copeland, a noted Boston landscape architect, to develop a master plan for a suburban park community which became known as the Borough of Ridley Park. Copeland's design is Delaware County's first planned community.[7] Because of its beautifully landscaped streets and parks, and its 20-acre (81,000 m2) man-made lake, Ridley Park became popular in the late 19th century and early part of the 20th century as a summer resort for wealthy Philadelphians who built most of the Victorian style homes still lived in today.[12]

Between January and May 1870, many farms were purchased. The streets in the new development were named after the families who sold their farmland. Names such as Burk, Dutton, Free, Henderson, Stewart and Ward, are still used today. The first train of passengers-cars stopped at Ridley Park on October 19, 1872. By that time, the town had a hotel, and a dam had been built across Crum Creek, creating a 20-acre (81,000 m2) lake. By 1880, the U.S. census return recorded the population of Ridley Park as 439. The railroad was, and continues today to be an integral part of the town.[13]

Geography

Ridley Park is located at 39°52′47″N 75°19′32″W / 39.87972°N 75.32556°W / 39.87972; -75.32556 (39.879631, -75.325482).[14]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), of which 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2) is land and 0.93% is water. It has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) and average monthly temperatures range from 33.4 °F in January to 78.2 °F in July. [1] The hardiness zone is 7b. [2]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1880439—
19001,234—
19101,76142.7%
19202,31331.3%
19303,35645.1%
19403,88715.8%
19504,92126.6%
19607,38750.1%
19709,02522.2%
19807,889−12.6%
19907,592−3.8%
20007,196−5.2%
20107,002−2.7%
20207,1862.6%
Sources:[15][16][17][18]

As of Census 2010, the racial makeup of the borough was 95.3%

Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population [3]
.

As of the

Latino
of any race were 0.50% of the population.

There were 3,015 households, out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the borough, the population was spread out, with 21.4% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $50,065, and the median income for a family was $62,378. Males had a median income of $43,201 versus $31,824 for females. The

poverty line
, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

I-95 southbound in Ridley Park

As of 2009, there were 20.87 miles (33.59 km) of public roads in Ridley Park, of which 4.42 miles (7.11 km) were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 16.45 miles (26.47 km) were maintained by the borough.[19]

Chester Pike (U.S. Route 13), also passes through the borough. Both highways connect the borough with Philadelphia and Chester
.

Ridley Park station is a SEPTA train station on the Wilmington/Newark Line.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The borough is served by the

radio station
.

Parochial schools

The St. James Regional, formerly St. Madeline-St. Rose School, serves grades 1st through 8. Originally, these were two separate parishes but in 1993, with declining enrollments, the

Archdiocese of Philadelphia consolidated the St. Madeline Parish in Ridley Park, and the St. Rose of Lima Parish in nearby Eddystone. The Archdiocese had an area wide consolidation of schools due to declining enrollment.[citation needed] The school is now called St. James Regional School after combining with St. Gabriel's in Norwood in 2012.[20] The name originated from the former St. James High School for Boys in Chester. The St. James High alumni association suggested the name, and the new school asked to use not only the name but also the mascot and colors.[21] When it opened it had 402 students, with around 201 being from St. Gabriel.[22]

Cardinal O'Hara High School, serving grades 9 through 12, is a coeducational school located in Springfield, and serves the Ridley Park, Chester, Swarthmore, and Springfield area.

Religion

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia operates Catholic churches. St. Madeline Church, established in 1908, is in Ridley Park. The number of parishioners decreased by 20% from 2008 to 2012, with 4,720 congregants in the latter year.[23]

In popular culture

The 2012 movie Silver Linings Playbook takes place in and around Ridley Park, which is credited at the end of the film. While the community is not specifically mentioned in the script, a police officer can be seen wearing the initials "RPPD" on his collar.

Notable people

References

  1. Delaware County Times
    . Retrieved 5 February 2016. Berger and two other Republican council members and Republican Mayor Hank Eberle conducted a reorganization of council at the Dec. 15 meeting in the wake of the resignations of two Democratic council members.
  2. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Oct 12, 2022.
  4. ^ Bush campaign to tour Boeing's Army helicopter factory in Delco, Pa. The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) August 17, 2004
  5. ^ a b Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware 1630-1707 (edited by Albert Cook Myers. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1912)
  6. ^ A History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, edited by John W. Jordan, LL. D., published by Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York 1914
  7. ^ a b Historic structures report: Joseph Pratt Farmhouse, Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation, Ridley Creek State Park, Edgemont Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania ... the Bishop's Mill Historical Institute, Inc)
  8. ISBN 0-938289-19-5
    , page 78
  9. ^ a b The history of Ridley Park by Keith Lockhart Published in 1987, K. Lockhart (Ridley Park, Pa.)
  10. ^ History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Henry Graham Ashmead, Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Co. 1884
  11. ^ History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. By Henry Graham Ashmead Philadelphia:L. H. Everts & Co.1884
  12. ^ The history of Ridley Park by Keith Lockhart Published in 1987, K. Lockhart (Ridley Park; Pa.)
  13. ^ History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. By Henry Graham Ashmead Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Co.1884
  14. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  15. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  16. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  17. ^ "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  18. ^ "Census 2020".
  19. ^ "Ridley Park Borough map" (PDF). PennDOT. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  20. ^ "2012 Catholic grade school consolidations/closings". Catholicphilly.com. 2012-07-15. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  21. Delco Times
    . Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  22. Delco Times
    . Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  23. Delco Times
    . Retrieved 2020-05-03.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ridley Park, Pennsylvania.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ridley Park.
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