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. 4th and 5th were the main commercial streets.
Once the land was surveyed, a public sale was held on June 10th, 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 that allowed them to exploit their closeness to the riverfront.
Eventually 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 Nineteenth Century and continuing into the early Twentieth 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 Heights, the "Kensington Dispatch" newspaper, a fire department, hotel, opera house, and a local chapter of the YMCA.
By 1906, 25,000 people occupied an area of seven miles. Schools and churches flourished at the turn of the century leading the way to the modern era we are now a part of.
Currently, the city has grown to include a Fire Department, Police Force and Rescue Team. There is also a Library, city newspaper "The Valley News Dispatch", over 15 churches, 3 banks, 4 elementary schools, 2 parochial schools, one high school, a branch campus of Penn State, and a post secondary school.
The current mayor of New Kensington is Frank E. Link, elected in 2001.
Geography
\nNew Kensington is located at 40°34'6" North, 79°45'30" West (40.568367, -79.758333)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.0 km² (4.2 mi²). 10.3 km² (4.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 6.37% water.
Demographics
\nAs of the census of 2000, there are 14,701 people, 6,519 households, and 3,963 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,429.7/km² (3,703.9/mi²). There are 7,309 housing units at an average density of 710.8/km² (1,841.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 87.85% White, 9.84% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. 0.72% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 6,519 households out of which 23.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% are married couples living together, 12.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% are non-families. 34.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 17.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.24 and the average family size is 2.90.
In the city the population is spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 42 years. For every 100 females there are 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 83.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $30,505, and the median income for a family is $37,952. Males have a median income of $32,692 versus $21,683 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,152. 13.7% of the population and 8.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 18.1% are under the age of 18 and 11.9% are 65 or older.