Shippingport, Pennsylvania

Shippingport Reactor in 1957.

Shippingport is the site of the United States' first commercial nuclear power plant, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, which began operation in 1957.[4] Although the original Shippingport reactor was decommissioned in 1982,[5] the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station Units 1 and 2 from the same site have been in operation since 1976 and 1987, respectively.

Shippingport is located in west-central Beaver County at 40°37′25″N 80°25′29″W (40.623594, −80.424691),[6] on the south side of the Ohio River. It is bordered to the southwest by Greene Township and to the southeast by Raccoon Township. To the north, across the Ohio River, are the boroughs of Industry (north) and Midland (northwest). The Shippingport Bridge carries Pennsylvania Route 168 across the river into Industry.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Shippingport has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.5 km²), of which 3.3 square miles (8.6 km²) is land and 0.35 square miles (0.9 km²), or 9.65%, is water.[7]

As of the 2000 census,[9] there were 237 people, 89 households, and 63 families residing in the borough. The population density was 72.2 inhabitants per square mile (27.9/km²). There were 95 housing units at an average density of 29.0 per square mile (11.2/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 100.00% White.

There were 89 households, out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $33,333, and the median income for a family was $34,861. Males had a median income of $27,159 versus $15,938 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $13,759. About 7.0% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.

Children in Shippingport are served by the South Side Area School District. The current schools serving Shippingport are:

• South Side Elementary School – grades K–5
• South Side Middle School – grades 6–8
• South Side High School – grades 9–12

• List of cities and towns along the Ohio River

• Borough website