New Kensington, Pennsylvania
| New Kensington, Pennsylvania | |
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 New Kensington
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| Coordinates: 40°34′6″N 79°45′30″W / 40.56833°N 79.75833°WCoordinates: 40°34′6″N 79°45′30″W / 40.56833°N 79.75833°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Westmoreland |
| Founded | 1891 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Tom Guzzo (D) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.2 sq mi (11.0 km2) |
| • Land | 4.0 sq mi (10.3 km2) |
| • Water | .3 sq mi (.7 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,110 ft (338.3 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 13,116 |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 15068,15069 |
| Area code(s) | 724 Exchanges: 334.335,337,339 |
New Kensington, known locally as New Ken, is a city in Westmoreland County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, situated along the Allegheny River 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 13,116 at the 2010 Census. The mayor is Democrat Tom Guzzo (D), elected in 2009; he succeeded Democrat Frank Link who had been elected in 2001.
Like much of Westmoreland County and surrounding areas, the region was a hunting ground for Native Americans of the Six Nations European-American settlement began in the mid-1700s. Continental army troops built Fort Crawford, near the mouth of Pucketa Creek, in 1777. The fort was abandoned in 1793.
Originally part of Burrell (and later Lower Burrell) Township, the city of New Kensington was founded in 1891. In 1890, the Burrell Improvement Company considered the advantages of the level land south of its home in Lower Burrell, and deemed it a prime location for a city and named the area "Kensington" (later changed to "New Kensington" for postal purposes, because Pennsylvania already had another city with that name). In an attempt to make New Kensington comparable to Pittsburgh, the streets were named with numbers. Avenues ran parallel to the river, while streets were perpendicular. The main commercial streets were 4th and 5th avenues.
Once the land was surveyed, a public sale was held on June 10, 1891. Thousands of people flooded the area and investors began bringing industry with them. The first large company was the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, which later became Alcoa. They acquired a 3.5-acre (14,000 m2) property that allowed the company to utilize the riverfront. The Alcoa facility remained operational until the 1960s.
Eventually, other companies such as Adams Drilling, Goldsmith and Lowerburg, New Kensington Milling, New Kensington Brewing, Logan Lumber, Keystone Dairy, and many more were built late in the 19th century and continuing into the early 20th century. Early achievements included a railroad station, the 9th Street bridge, a passenger boat that navigated the Allegheny River, a street car line that ran to Natrona via the West Penn Railways, the Kensington Dispatch newspaper, a fire department, hotel, opera house, and a local chapter of the YMCA. New Kensington annexed the independent borough of Parnassus in 1939.
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