Murrysville, Pennsylvania facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Murrysville, Pennsylvania
Home rule municipality
Hills in Murrysville
Flag Seal
Location of Murrysville in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Westmoreland
Settled	1788 (as Franklin Township)
Area
• Total	36.84 sq mi (95.41 km2)
• Land	36.83 sq mi (95.39 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)
Elevation	1,110 ft (338.3 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	21,006
• Density	570.35/sq mi (220.21/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	15668, 15632
Area code(s)	724, 412
FIPS code	42-52432
Website	www.murrysville.com

Murrysville is a special kind of town in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It's called a home rule municipality. This means it has more control over its own local laws. In 2020, about 21,006 people lived there. Murrysville is also part of the larger Pittsburgh area.

History of Murrysville

Early Discoveries and the Haymaker Gas Well

The approximate site where the Haymaker brothers found natural gas in Murrysville in 1878.

Murrysville is famous for having the very first commercial natural gas well in the United States. This well was drilled in 1878 by the Haymaker brothers. For a while, it was the biggest commercial gas well in the world!

Before a pipeline was built in 1883, a huge amount of gas was released into the air every day. This was about 35 million cubic feet daily. Over time, about 60 billion cubic feet of gas escaped from this one spot.

The "Haymaker Riots" and Early Speculation

In the early 1900s, Murrysville was known for its many gas wells. Finding gas led to a lot of excitement and people trying to buy land rights. This caused some conflicts known as the "Haymaker Riots." These were disputes over who owned the rights to drill for gas.

The Murrysville Tree Sign

Since 1933, Murrysville has had a unique "tree sign." It spells out the word "Murrysville" using trees! Local Boy Scouts helped to plant and shape the trees to form the letters.

This sign is on a big hill near U.S. Route 22. It's one of the first things you see when you enter Murrysville from the Monroeville border. In 1947, the sign was even featured in "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" as the world's largest tree sign. The "Y" in the sign points towards the old Haymaker Gas Well.

Gateway to Westmoreland County

In 1977, Murrysville was given a special title: "Gateway to Westmoreland County." Mayor Walt Dollman and the Chamber of Commerce helped make this happen. In 2012, community leaders improved the entrance sign to show this important designation. You can see this "Gateway" title on the official seal of Murrysville.

Becoming a Home Rule Municipality

In August 1976, the people of Murrysville voted to become a home rule municipality. This change gave the community more power to make its own local decisions and create its own rules.

Geography and Location

Murrysville is located at 40°26′5″N 79°39′24″W / 40.43472°N 79.65667°W / 40.43472; -79.65667. It is about 20 miles east of Pittsburgh. You can find it along U.S. Route 22. It's just east of the county line between Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.

Area and Water Features

The municipality covers a total area of about 36.9 square miles (95.4 square kilometers). Most of this area is land. Only a very small part, about 0.03%, is water.

Local Neighborhoods

Murrysville has several neighborhoods within its borders. Some of these include:

• Murrysville Heights
• Heather Highlands
• Franklin Estates
• Settlers Ridge (also called The Ridge)
• Dunningtown
• Newlonsburg
• Ringertown
• Sardis
• White Valley

The Borough of Export is located inside Murrysville. However, Export is its own separate town and not part of Murrysville.

Neighboring Communities

Murrysville shares borders with eight other places:

• Upper Burrell Township (to the north)
• Washington Township (to the north and east)
• Salem Township (to the south and southeast)
• Delmont (to the southeast)
• Penn Township (to the south)
• Monroeville (to the southwest, in Allegheny County)
• Plum (to the west, in Allegheny County)

Population and People

In 2000, there were 18,872 people living in Murrysville. By 2020, the population grew to 21,006.

Most people in Murrysville are White (95.38%). There are also people of African American (0.61%), Asian (3.28%), and other backgrounds. About 0.56% of the population is Hispanic or Latino.

Many households in Murrysville are married couples living together (71.8%). About 34.5% of households have children under 18 living with them. The average household has about 2.63 people.

Education in Murrysville

Murrysville is part of the Franklin Regional School District. This district has four schools:

• Franklin Regional Primary School
• Franklin Regional Intermediate School
• Franklin Regional Middle School
• Franklin Regional High School

The superintendent of the district is Dr. Gennaro Piraino. Franklin Regional High School has a very high graduation rate, around 99.3%. This is much higher than the national average for public high schools. In 2016, Newsweek magazine ranked it among "America's Top High Schools."

There are also private schools in Murrysville, like Mother of Sorrows Catholic School. The Free Gospel Bible Institute (FGBI), which is a bible college, is also located here.

Notable People from Murrysville

Many interesting people have come from Murrysville:

• Julie Benz (born 1972), an actress
• Jeremiah Burrell (1815–1856), a lawyer and judge
• Bobby Engram (born 1973), a former football player and coach
• Eli Evankovich (born 1982), a former state representative
• Tom Flynn (born 1962), a former football player for the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants
• Josiah Given (1828–1908), a soldier and Supreme Court justice
• Spencer Lee (born 1998), a world champion and NCAA wrestling champion
• Ken Macha (born 1950), a former baseball manager and player
• Robert Moose (1947–1976), a former pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates
• Manu Narayan (born 1973), an actor
• Candace Otto (born 1980), who was Miss Pennsylvania in 2003
• Maddie Ziegler (born 2002), a dancer and actress
• Mackenzie Ziegler (born 2004), a dancer, singer, model, and actress

See also

In Spanish: Murrysville (Pensilvania) para niños