Brownsville

Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,804 at the 2000 census and it is served by the Brownsville Area School District. It was named after Thomas Brown who purchased the land. Brownsville is also home to the first iron cast bridge in the United States, Dunlap’s Creek Bridge, which was built in 1839.

History

Brownsville started out as a boatbuilding center along the Monongahela River but later transformed to become a large hub for the coal and steel industries. Its location allowed for easy access to transport goods along US 40, Monongahela River, or the railway system. As the steel industry declined in the 20th century, as did Brownsville’s once prosperous community. Today, nearly all of Brownsville’s downtown buildings are vacant.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,804 people, 1,238 households, and 716 families residing in Brownsville. The population density was 1,082.6/km² (2,796.6/mi²). There were 1,550 housing units at an average density of 598.5/km² (1,545.9/mi²). The racial makeup of Brownsville was 85.95% White, 11.41% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 2.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.

There were 1,238 households out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.2% were married couples living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.97.

Brownsville’s population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.7 males.

The median income for a household in Brownsville was $18,559, and the median income for a family was $32,662. Males had a median income of $31,591 versus $21,830 for females. The per capita income for Brownsville was $13,404. About 28.8% of families and 34.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 51.2% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.