Lititz, Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Borough of Lititz | |
|---|---|
| Named for: A Bohemian Castle | |
| Motto : The Heart of Lancaster County | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Lancaster |
| Area | 2.3 sq mi (6 km²) |
| - land | 2.3 sq mi (6 km²) |
| - water | 0.0 sq mi (0 km²), 0% |
| Center | |
| - coordinates | Coordinates: |
| - elevation | 381 ft (116.1 m) |
| Population | 9,029 (2000) |
| Density | 3,884.0 /sq mi (1,499.6 /km²) |
| Settled | 1710 |
| - Founded | 1756 |
| Mayor | Russell L. Pettyjohn (R) |
| Manager | Sue Ann Barry |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 17543 |
| Area code | 717 |
 Location of Lititz in Lancaster County
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  Location of Lititz in Pennsylvania
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 Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
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| Website : http://www.lititzpa.com | |
Lititz is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 6 miles (approximately 10 km) north of Lancaster.
Contents |
[edit] History
Lititz was founded by members of the Moravian Church in 1756, and was named after a castle (mentioned form of name is German; Czech name of this castle is Litice) in Bohemia near the village of Kunvald where the ancient Bohemian Brethren's Church had been founded in 1457. The roots of the Moravian Brethren's Church date back to the ancient Bohemian Brethren's Church. For a century, only Moravians were permitted to live in Lititz. Until the middle of the 1800s, only members of the congregation could own houses; others were required to lease. The lease-system was abolished in 1855, just 5 years before the beginning of the Civil War. More information can be found in the book A Brief History of Lititz Pennsylvania by Mary Augusta Huevener, published in 1947.
During a part of the American Revolution, the Brethren's House, built in 1759, was used as a hospital. A number of soldiers died and were buried here. Lititz is also home to Linden Hall School, the oldest all-girls boarding school in the United States. Located adjacent to the Moravian Church on 47 acres of land, Linden Hall School was founded by the Moravians in 1746, a decade before the borough was incorporated.
In modern days, Lititz is now recognized for having the longest continuous-running celebration of Independence Day, which has been a town tradition since 1813. This celebration routinely shuts down most of the town to traffic, due to the large volume of tourists and former Lititz residents who return for the Queen of Candles pageant and the yearly fireworks gala. Lititz is also shut down for two weekends during the summer, when the Lititz Lions and Lititz Rotary Club sponsor their art show and craft show, both of which extend from the Lititz Springs Park out into Broad Street (PA-501) and Main Street (PA-772). These shows are yearly tradition in Lititz as well, though sometimes dreaded because of the traffic disruptions they spawn.
During 2006 a year long celebration was held commemorating the 250th anniversary of the naming of the town. Some of the major events included a service and commemoration ceremony in Lititz Springs Park on Sunday June 11th, the official naming ceremony on Monday June 12th, a fountain show in the park called "Symphonic Springs" during August 20th-26th, and a New Year's celebration.
[edit] Geography
Lititz is located at (40.154725, -76.303387)[1].
Pennsylvania Routes 772 (Orange and Main Streets) and 501 (Broad Street) run through the town.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6 km²), all land.
[edit] Law and government
- Mayor: Russel L. Pettyjohn (R)
- Borough Manager: Sue Ann Barry
- Borough Council
- John W. Riegel, President
- Ruth McKennon, Vice President
- Joseph Kane, III, Chairman
- (vacant)
- Karen Weibel
- James Wynkoop
Lititz, along with Elizabeth and Warwick townships and part of Penn township, is located in the Warwick School District.
- Schools
- Warwick High School
- Warwick Middle School
- Lititz Elementary School (at former site of K-12 Lititz High School; serves the central and northern part of Lititz borough and western Warwick township out to Penn township and its border with Manheim Central School District)
- John Beck Elementary School (founded independently of the district and incorporated; serves the northern part of Warwick township and Elizabeth township)
- John R. Bonfield Elementary School (serves the eastern part of the school district, including the outskirts of Lititz borough and Warwick township)
- Kissel Hill Elementary School (serves the southern part of Lititz borough and Warwick township south to the Manheim Township line)
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 9,029 people, 3,732 households, and 2,407 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,884.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,499.6/km²). There were 3,827 housing units at an average density of 1,646.2 per square mile (636.9/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.23% White, 0.44% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.52% of the population.
There were 3,732 households out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the borough the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $40,417, and the median income for a family was $52,028. Males had a median income of $36,126 versus $25,997 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $20,601. About 2.6% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Recent controversies
[edit] Water pollution
Lititz came under fire for its poor ground water quality. The water in Lititz Springs Park tested at 19.1 for Nitrates on August 8, 2007 in a test paid for by the Intelligencer Journal. While this is normal in Pennsylvania agricultural areas, a few activists represented the raw water quality as finished water that was distributed to residents. Lititz Borough has a multi-million dollar water treatment plant that has allowed pollutants to be removed so that the water distributed to residents meets all Federal and State regulations.
[edit] The Borden case
The town received national press coverage on 13 November 2005, after David G. Ludwig murdered Michael and Cathryn Borden. Ludwig fled the scene with their daughter, Kara Beth, and an Amber Alert was issued for her.
Ludwig was returned to Lititz, and criminal proceedings against the latter have concluded with him pleading guilty to two counts of first degree murder, reckless endangerment, statutory sexual assault and firearms violations. Ludwig received two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole plus 9.5 to 19 years for the weapons charges. Ludwig lived within the borough of Lititz. The Bordens lived outside the borough in Warwick Township.
Kara Borden, who fled the scene voluntarily with her parent's murderer, returned to Lititz, but she now lives elsewhere.
[edit] Racist incident
The town received national press coverage on 11 October 2007, after three white 16-year-old students allegedly yelled racial slurs and threw paper wads at minority students outside the 1,600-student Warwick High School. School officials vowed to discipline the three students with suspension or expulsion, tighten security, and ban Confederate flags on school property, and six of the students were charged with disorderly conduct.[3]
The superintendent said the incident was revealed only after a teacher overheard other students discussing it and alerted administrators.[4]
[edit] Sister City
A Sister City relationship between Lititz and Kunvald (Czech Republic) was established on June 11, 2006, during the celebration of the 250th anniversary naming of Lititz. The ceremony took place in Lititz Springs Park.
[edit] Sites of interest
[edit] Museums and Historic Sites
- Candy Americana Museum -- Located in the Wilbur Chocolate Company
- Grave of John A. Sutter
- Heritage Map Museum
- Johannes Mueller House
- Kready's Country Store Museum
- Sturgis Pretzel House
[edit] Notable natives and residents
- Bob Longenecker (1909) - Hollywood talent agent
- Johann Augustus Sutter (1803 – 1880) - Pioneer of California
[edit] Gallery
 General Sutter Grave in Lititz Moravian Cemetery |
 Military Hospital Plaque in Lititz |
 Mayor of Lititz Hon. Russell L. Pettyjohn |
[edit] References
[edit] Sources
- Moravian Historical Society Transactions, volume ii, (Bethlehem, Pa.)
- Mombert, An Authentic History of Lancaster County, Pa., (Lancaster, 1869)
