Folcroft

Folcroft is located in southeastern Delaware County at 39°5336N 75°1651W (39.893212, -75.280881) It is bordered to the south by Darby Creek and to the west by its tributary, Muckinipattis Creek. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Folcroft has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The borough straddles the boundary between hardiness zones 7a and 7b. A branch of the Delaware County Courthouse makes its home in Folcroft, and Folcroft Station is a stop on the Wilmington/Newark Line of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter railroad system. The population was 6,606 at the 2010 census, down from 6,978 at the 2000 census. Folcroft became the first municipality in Delaware County to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2020. Franny DiCicco was sworn in as the first female Mayor of Folcroft in its 100 year history on January 3, 2022, in a clean sweep of the open seats of the Borough on Election Day 2021. As of Census 2010, the racial makeup of the borough was 67.1% White, 26.0% African American, 0.3% Native American, 2.9% Asian, 1.4% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Origin of naturalized citizens are 61% African, 12% Asian and 6.6 percent Latin American.

History

Originally part of Darby Township, Folcroft was incorporated as a borough in 1922. The original road was a Leni Lenape trail called "Turkey's Neck Trail" It became a residential area with the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1874. In 2020, the Borough became the first in Delaware County to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The Borough's first female mayor was sworn in on January 3, 2022, as part of a clean sweep of the open seats in the Borough. The borough's name is derived from the Swedish word for "road" and the word "Folcroft" means "leafy field" or "foothold" in English. It is the first borough to be named after a city in the United States. It was named after the town of Folcroft, Pennsylvania, which was once part of the Dutch colony of New Sweden. The name Folcroft means "fool" in Swahili and "frock" is the name of the town's first post office, which opened in 1788. The town's name was changed to Folcroft in 1875 after the opening of the Pennsylvania Routes 1 and 2. It became known as the Folcroft Road after the first road was built in 1876. The current name is the result of the development of the Delmarva Peninsula in the mid-19th century. The area was originally known as Calcon, which means "leafy fields" in Swedish. The word "fol" is used to refer to the area.

Geography

Folcroft is located in southeastern Delaware County at 39°5336N 75°1651W (39.893212, -75.280881). It is bordered to the south by Darby Creek and to the west by its tributary, Muckinipattis Creek. The borough straddles the boundary between hardiness zones 7a and 7b. A branch of the Delaware County Courthouse makes its home in Folcroft. Folcroft Station is a stop on the Wilmington/Newark Line of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter railroad system. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Folcroft has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the borough has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²), of which 1.2 square miles is land and 0.5 km², or 12.38%, is water. The city of Philadelphia is to the east, across Darby creek, and the borough is on the Delaware River. It is located on the New Jersey Turnpike, which runs through the city of Delaware. The town has a population of 2,000 (2,000 in 2010 Census figures). The borough is part of the Wilmington-Newark Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the cities of Wilmington and Newark.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,978 people, 2,530 households, and 1,862 families residing in the borough. As of Census 2010, the racial makeup of the borough was 67.1% White, 26.0% African American, 0.3% Native American, 2.9% Asian, and 2.4% from two or more races. Origin of naturalized citizens are 61% African, 12% Asian and 6.6% Latin American. Folcroft has a growing Hispanic and African population in recent years. The median income for a household in the Borough was $44,443, and the median income. for a family was $50,791. About 7.8% of families and 8.4%. of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 10.7%. of those age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.24. The. median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For each 100 females age 18 or over, there. were 90.7 males. The population density was 5,151.6 people per square mile (1,995.7/km²). There were 2,629 housing units at an average density of 1,940.9 per squaremile (751.9/ km²). The racial makeup was 93.1 per cent White, 4.0 per cent. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.6%.

Transportation

Folcroft Station is a SEPTA train station on the Wilmington/Newark Line. It is located in the town of Folcroft, Pennsylvania. The station is located on the Newark/Wilmington Line, which runs from Philadelphia to New Jersey. It was built in the 1930s and 1940s by the City of Newark. It has a platform for the New Jersey State Railroad Company's New Jersey-Newark line. It opened on November 1, 1939. It closed on December 1, 1961. It reopened on December 31, 1961, and remains open to this day.

Environmental issues

The Lower Darby Creek Area site consists of two landfills, the Clearview Landfill and the Folcroft Landfill/Annex. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will have the lead on cleaning it up. Tinicum's Marshes, along with other wetlands in the Delaware estuary, are the nursery for commercial and sport fisheries along the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. In the shadow of Philadelphia, visitors can watch pintail ducks feeding, red-bellied turtles basking, butterflies flitting, and foxes play in the marshes of Tinicum Marsh, a National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia and Delaware counties. The site is home to 1,200 acres (490 ha) of marshes, fields, streams and forests. It is one of over 530 national wildlife refuges managed by the United States Fish and wildlife Service. The two landfilled sites operated from the 1950s to the 1970s and were eventually closed in the mid-1970s. During operation they disposed of a variety of waste including municipal, demolition, and hospital waste. EPA is in discussions with potentially responsible parties to form a group to perform the RI/FS at the FolCROFT Landfill-Annex in June 2001. It will be the second Superfund site in Philadelphia to be declared a National Priorities List site in the past 20 years. The first site was the Philadelphia Superfund Site, which was declared a national priority site in 1998.

Education

Southeast Delco School District operates public schools for the municipality. Most K-8 school residents in Folcroft are zoned to Delcroft School, while some are zoning to Sharon Hill School. All residents of the school district areZoned to Academy Park High School. Most residents of Folcroft have a high school diploma or GED. Most Folcroft residents have a college degree or GEd degree. Some residents have an advanced degree in some fields, such as business or finance. Some have a master's degree or doctorate degree from a local college or university. Many residents have been to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in the past few years. Some Folcro residents have gone to the University Of Colorado-Boulder, where they have a Bachelors and Masters degree in business and finance. Many Folro residents have attended college or graduate school in the United States or abroad. Many have been involved in charity work in other countries, including the United Nations, World Health Organization, and U.N. Children's Fund. The Folcroft School District has been in existence since the 1950s. It was founded by the Delco County School District. It is part of the Southeast Delco Community School District, which was formed in the 1960s. The district is still in operation today. It has a school district that serves the Folcroft area. It also serves the surrounding areas. The Delco area has a number of non-school-related activities, including a golf course, a bowling alley, and a ski resort.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Folcroft, Delaware County, Pennsylvania = 20.2. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 5. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Folcroft = 3.8 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 6,792 individuals with a median age of 36.9 age the population dropped by -2.63% in Folcroft, Delaware County, Pennsylvania population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 5,455.42 residents per square mile of area (2,105.89/km²). There are average 2.71 people per household in the 2,504 households with an average household income of $51,763 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.10% of the available work force and has dropped -4.83% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 22.24%. The number of physicians in Folcroft per 100,000 population = 341.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Folcroft = 41 inches and the annual snowfall = 19.6 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 117. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 202. 87 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 24.7 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 43, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Folcroft, Delaware County, Pennsylvania which are owned by the occupant = 74.74%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 52 years with median home cost = $121,280 and home appreciation of 1.76%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $20.05 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $6,330 per student. There are 16 students for each teacher in the school, 815 students for each Librarian and 509 students for each Counselor. 6.23% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 6.44% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 1.48% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).