Dunbar at fayette portal

Dunbar is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,219 at the 2000 census. It is served by the Connellsville Area School District. The borough hosts the annual Fayette County Fair and is home to the former Pechin’s Shopping Village.

History

Named after British Colonel Thomas Dunbar, whom was part of the Braddock expedition, a failed British attempt to capture the French Fort Duquesne in the summer of 1755 during the French and Indian War. The town was settled in the 1790’s and was incorporated in 1883. Its original name was Frogtown which was later changed to Dunbar City before finally becoming Dunbar. In the ladder part of the 19th and even into the early 20th century Dunbar was a thriving town by way of its coal and coke resources. After the collapse of the coal and coke industry and the great depression Dunbar experienced serve economic decline and has yet to recover.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,219 people, 513 households, and 343 families residing in Dunbar. The population density was 724.1/km² (1,879.0/mi²). There were 576 housing units at an average density of 342.1/km² (887.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.26% White, 0.41% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.08% Asian, and 0.16% from two or more races.

There were 513 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.93.

Dunbar’s population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 85.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $25,718, and the median income for a family was $30,197. Males had a median income of $27,411 versus $18,507 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $14,176. About 5.9% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.