NORWOOD, PA

Norwood is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,890 at the 2010 census.

History

The Morton Morton House is located at the confluence of the Muckinipattis Creek and Darby Creek. It was built around 1750 by Morton Morton (1701-1781), the great grandson of Marten Martenson who was a settler in New Sweden in 1654. Morton Morton was a first cousin to John Morton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The Morton Morton House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Geography

Norwood is located in southeastern Delaware County at (39.888312, -75.297178). It is bordered to the northeast by Glenolden, to the east by Folcroft, to the south by Tinicum Township, to the west by Prospect Park, and to the west and north by Ridley Township. U.S. Route 13 (Chester Pike) is the main road through the borough, leading northeast to Center City Philadelphia and southwest to Chester.

Norwood is bordered by Darby Creek to the south and the Muckinipattis Creek to the east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Norwood has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.54%, is water.

Demographics

As of Census 2010, the racial makeup of the borough was 95.0% White, 1.5% African American, 0.1% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population [https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF].

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,985 people, 2,286 households, and 1,536 families residing in the borough. The population density was 7,484.3 people per square mile (2,888.5/km²). There were 2,363 housing units at an average density of 2,955.0 per square mile (1,140.4/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.56% White, 1.10% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.18% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.

There were 2,286 households, out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $47,043, and the median income for a family was $54,983. Males had a median income of $41,667 versus $28,315 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $20,513. About 4.6% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Norwood Station is a SEPTA train station on the Wilmington/Newark Line. SEPTA also operates the Route 114 bus that makes stops on Chester Pike in Norwood.

Education

Norwood lies within the Interboro School District. Norwood School serves students in grades K-8, and Interboro High School serves students in grades 9-12. The Kindergarten Academy, located in Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, also serves pupils who reside in Norwood at the Kindergarten level.

St. James Regional Catholic School in Ridley Park is the area Catholic school. It formed in 2012 from a merger of St. Gabriel Catholic School, located within the Norwood borough boundaries, and St. Madeline-St. Rose in Ridley Park. St. Gabriel opened in 1960, with another segment of the building opening in 1962. Former St. Gabriel teacher Denise Crane stated in a letter to the editor to the Delco Times that students came from Norwood, Folcroft, Glenolden, and Prospect Park. Donna Kowal, who began teaching at St. James in 1968, recalled that there were over 1,000 students at the time; each grade level had about 200 students, with about four classes with around 50 students each, but that by 2012 the student population figures had sharply declined. The final enrollment was around 164.

Notable people