Sharon, Pennsylvania

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Sharon is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, 75 miles (121 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. Sharon was settled in 1795, incorporated as a borough on October 6, 1841, and became a city on December 17, 1918.

Thanks to its large coal deposits, Sharon was once a major industrial center, with rolling mills, boiler and machine shops, furnaces, flour mills, ordnance works, and manufactories of explosives, nails, horse collars, spokes, chains, stoves, and lumber products. In 1900, the population was 8,916 persons; in 1910, 15,270 persons; in 1920, 21,747 persons; and 25,622 people lived in Sharon in 1940. Today there is still some steel and metalworking as well as other manufacturing, but like most of America the city has been the victim of deindustrialization; despite the reclamation of several industrial sites and investments from manufacturing businesses, most of the city's job growth today is in the service sector. The population was 16,328 at the 2000 census.

A quirky small city in Western Pennsylvania, Sharon has worked to shed its "Rust Belt" image, having earned recognition and a small amount of tourist dollars through the somewhat dubious promotion of a number of "world's largest"s, including the "world's largest" shoe store (Reyers), candy store (Daffin's), and off-price women's fashion store (The Winner), as well as the original Quaker Steak and Lube, a bar specializing in chicken wings, and Tara (actually located in nearby Clark), an American Civil War-style plantation not located in the Deep South. Much of this is the brainchild of local entrepreneur James E. Winner Jr., who also made Sharon famous through his winning of a law suit which gave him title to the invention of The Club, a very popular auto-theft prevention device.

Sharon is also the home of Sharon Regional Health System, a massive full-service community hospital uncommonly found in communities of its size; the Vocal Group Hall of Fame; and the Shenango Campus of Pennsylvania State University, which is the only urban campus in the Penn State system.

Sharon, along with Mercer County, is counted by the US Census Bureau as part of the Youngstown-Warren, OH Metropolitan Area.

Contents 1 Profile 2 Broadcast Media 3 Elected Officials 4 Businesses 5 Police Department 6 Geography 7 Demographics 8 Trivia 9 External links

[edit] Profile

Sharon, Pennsylvania is situated along the Shenango River in western Pennsylvania, and it borders Ohio. Despite its small size, Sharon is a remarkably diverse community. Approximately 10 percent of city residents and 19 percent of students enrolled in the city's public schools are minorities, giving it the second-highest minority concentration in Mercer County. Sharon's neighborhoods reveal further diversity--the west side is situated on a hillside just over the Pennsylvania-Ohio border and consists mainly of older, dense family homes (many of which are over a century old); the north and south sides contain a mixture of dense millworker houses and 1960s-style suburban development as well as some subsidized housing; the east side is home to many large and beautiful homes, some of which have changed hands for nearly $500,000; and the downtown is home to four massive senior complexes (Connelly, Riverview, Vermeire, and McKelvey manors), loft apartments over storefronts, and subsidized housing. The city is also home to over thirty churches that house Roman Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Jewish, Orthodox, and other congregations.

The founding families of Sharon first settled on the flat plain bordering the Shenango River (this area is situated between two hills and is the current location of Sharon's downtown and the North and South flats business districts). The community probably received its name from a Bible-reading settler who likened the location to the Plain of Sharon in Israel.

The city operates unter the PA third-class city charter, with a mayor-council form of government.

Famous native Sharonites include author John D. MacDonald, Indianapolis Colts cornerback Marlin Jackson, singer Tony Butala of The Lettermen, Great White guitarist Ty Longley, Lady Fantastic drummer and 6 time black belt karate champion Nick Kloss, drummer Bernie Dresel of Brian Setzer Orchestra, former baseball player and business owner Anthony Snowell, composer/songwriter Johnny Broderick and actors Lester Rawlins and Carmen Argenziano.

[edit] Broadcast Media

Because of Sharon's location on the Pennsylvania/Ohio border, it is served by NBC affiliate WFMJ, CBS affiliate WKBN-TV, FOX affiliate WYFX-LP, and ABC affiliate WYTV, all broadcast from nearby Youngstown.

[edit] Elected Officials

MAYOR

• Robert J. Lucas

CITY COUNCIL

• Fred J. Hoffman, President
• Darin D. Flower, Vice President
• Victor S. Heutsche
• Jennifer Kotyk Barborak
• Francis P. Connelly

[edit] Businesses

The following are just a handful of the businesses that are currently based in Sharon:

• Sharon Regional Health System (health care) [1]
• The Herald (newspaper) [2]
• Sharon Tube Co. (pipe and tube products) [3]
• G.W. Becker Inc. (crane parts manufacturer) [4]
• Quaker Steak and Lube (restaurateur) [5]
• American Industries Inc. (railcar parts manufacturer) [6]
• Virostick Transfer Co. (relocation)
• Winner International (anti-theft devices) [7]
• Winner Steel LLC (galvanization) [8]
• WinTronics, Inc. (technology) [9]
• NanoLogix Inc. (biochemical products) [10]
• Montgomery Mouse Trap Company (pest control products) [11]
• Winner Global Defense (national security) [12]
• Primary Health Network (health care provider) [13]
• Keystone Blind Association (visual impairment services) [14]
• Amrod Bridge & Iron Inc. (steel fabrication)

The following businesses are not based in Sharon but operate facilities there:

• John Maneely Co. (pipe and tube products) [15]
• Fessler Machine Co. (machine parts) [16]
• Sunbelt Transformer Co. [17]
• Redi-Bag USA (polyethylene products) [18]
• Crosstex International (medical equipment) [19]
• Pennsylvania State University (education) [20]
• Aqua America (water supplier) [21]
• Eastern Software/Fidelity Information Services (technology) [22]
• G&K Services (apparel services) [23]
• OmniSource Inc. (scrap recycling) [24]

[edit] Police Department

The Sharon Police Department is the police force for Sharon, Pennsylvania. The department was founded in 1918, when Sharon changed its charter from borough to third-class city status. The department has a normal complement of thirty full time sworn officers. The current manpower is at twenty-seven. The current police chief is Michael Menster.

[edit] Geography

Sharon is located at 41°13′48″N, 80°29′56″W (41.230106, -80.498960)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.7 km² (3.8 mi²), all land. However, the Shenango River runs through the city and provides drinking water to Sharon and several surrounding communities.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 16,328 people, 6,791 households, and 4,190 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,676.7/km² (4,342.6/mi²). There were 7,388 housing units at an average density of 758.6/km² (1,964.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.44% White, 10.85% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 2.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.88% of the population.

There were 6,791 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% 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 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,945, and the median income for a family was $34,581. Males had a median income of $30,072 versus $20,988 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,913. About 14.0% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.8% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Trivia

• The 1988 movie Tiger Warsaw, starring Patrick Swayze, was filmed in Sharon. The film, directed by Pakistani filmmaker Amin Chaudhri (who started a studio in the Sharon area), made extensive usage of the town's post-industrial backdrop.

[edit] External links

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 41.230106° -80.49896°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
• Official Website of the City of Sharon (under construction)
• The (Sharon, PA) Herald