Millbourne, Pennsylvania

Millbourne
Borough
Borough of Millbourne
Millbourne's Market-Frankford Line station
Location in Delaware County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Millbourne Location in Pennsylvania Millbourne Location in the United States
Coordinates: 39°57′48″N 75°15′14″W
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Delaware
Founded	1909
Founded by	Samuel Sellers
Named for	Millbourne Mills
Government
• Type	Mayor–council government
• Mayor	Tayub Mahabubul Alam (D)
Area
• Total	0.07 sq mi (0.19 km2)
• Land	0.07 sq mi (0.19 km2)
Elevation	128 ft (39 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,212
• Density	1,731.43/sq mi (6,378.95/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code(s)	610 and 484
FIPS code	42-49504
Website	www.millbourneborough.org

Millbourne /ˈmɪlbərn/ is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,159 at the 2010 census. Millbourne borders Philadelphia along Cobbs Creek. Millbourne students attend Upper Darby School District schools. Magisterial courts with presiding jurisdiction for Millbourne are also located in Upper Darby.

Millbourne, at over 17,000 people per square mile, is the most densely populated incorporated place in Pennsylvania, and 22nd in the entire United States.

Geography

A row of houses and cars on Sellers Ave.

Millbourne Borough is located at 39°57′48″N 75°15′14″W (39.963412, -75.253998).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²), all land, making it the smallest municipality in Delaware County, Pennsylvania by area.

The elevated station on the Market-Frankford Line was rebuilt and rededicated in mid-2008, offers an 11-minute commute to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University and a 15-minute commute to Center City. Millbourne is also near the 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby and the 63rd Street Station in West Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in the early 21st century that, according to U.S. Census data, only about one-third of Millbourne workers commuted by car. There is a PhillyCarShare shared car "node" at 69th Street Station, easily accessible from Millbourne or by commuters exiting the Market Frankford El at 69th Street.

Shops in Millbourne on the side of Market Street

The Borough is approximately bounded on the north and east by Cobbs Creek, and on the south by Market Street. The creek is graced by an historic mill dam and a bridge said to be eligible for placement on national historic registries. Across Cobbs Creek to the north lies an extension of Fairmount Park and the Cobbs Creek Golf Course. Snowy egrets have been seen in this very urban creek environment.

Cobbs Creek originally hosted the Millbourne Mills, a flour mill, and slightly further south in Upper Darby the first mill in the country, established by Ben Franklin at the corner of 63rd Street and Walnut Street. In the 19th century the Cardington Mill (cotton) was built nearby along Naylor's Run. A paper mill existed around the time of the Civil War somewhat farther north-west on Cobbs Creek, near the current site of the 69th Street Station repair yard. The paper was used to wrap guns for the war.

Economy & Development

Millbourne was the home of Millbourne Mills, a grain mill originally established in the 18th century by the Sellers family. It closed in the 1920s. The old mill dam is still visible on the creek today, as is an arch that covered a rail line serving the Mill.

Sears Roebuck & Co.

Later, a Sears Roebuck & Co. department store was built in 1925 and was located on a plot of land at the northeastern end of Millbourne on what is commonly thought to be a flood plain for Cobbs Creek. The Sears department store, through mercantile tax, provided approximately half of the Borough's revenues. It was relocated to the corner of Walnut Street and 69th Street in Upper Darby in 1988. The vacant building was demolished in 2000. The relocation caused significant financial difficulties for the borough.

In 2012, A development plan was created for the vacant 18-acre plot of land. It included multiple retail stores and anchors, housing units and apartments, and new townhall. The plan was scrapped in later years. As of 2022, a Service and Logistics Center for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is being constructed. The new center will create new jobs and will be state of the art.

Financially Distressed Municipality

Millbourne was designated a financially distressed municipality in 1993 by the state of Pennsylvania. The Borough had a status as a "blighted" community in 2006. Later, the borough was removed from the financially distressed municipality list in 2014. This was after a successful campaign by former mayor Thomas Kramer. Millbourne hadn't overspent its budget in 5 years and the borough even went as far as to use goats to remove weeds.

Culture

Bangladeshi Festival of Millbourne in 2014

In 2000, 40.2% of Millbourne residents identified themselves as being of Asian Indian heritage. This was the highest percentage of Indian Americans of any place in the United States. Millbourne is also the only community in Pennsylvania with an Asian American majority. Millbourne is home to a Gurudwara, where the Philadelphia Sikh Society holds services. There is a Mosque about a quarter mile away in Upper Darby. A number of residents originate from Kerala, a south-western state of India. A culture fair held annually nearby in Upper Darby. The Borough boasts an expert in the ancient art of Cambodian court dance.

Annually, a festival is held in Millbourne on Wister Drive. The Bangladeshi Festival of Millbourne is a daylong celebration of Bangladeshi culture filled with music and food. Barbecue, pop-up shops and music are typical at these events.

External videos
A video about Millbourne and its culture by Global Indian News Wire from 2011
Millbourne, Pennsylvania

Community

The borough maintains its own police department, which provides frequent coverage of each street. The borough used to have a Fire Department, but it was shut down in 2019. Millbourne has a Town Watch, a volunteer organization run in cooperation with the police department.

External videos
A video about the diversity at Millbourne by WPVI-TV from 2011
Visions 2011

The Millbourne Borough Council re-established a paper recycling program in approximately 2009, which was discontinued due to vandalism of the paper bins. County "igloos" for recycling glass are located behind the auto parts store approximately at the corner of Powell Lane and Market Street. The county offers recycling of electronics periodically. Community clean-ups are held a few times a year on a volunteer basis, often followed by a barbecue or potluck.

Across Market Street, just inside Upper Darby on the eastern end of town, there's a community garden. There's a bit of a wait for a plot. Farther east of

External audio
Millbourne: Getting Back on Track, 16:53, Grapple, Keystone Crossroads

the garden, also in Upper Darby, is the Life Center of Eastern Delaware County. This is a 50-bed homeless shelter for individual adults. Many residents of Millbourne volunteer serving or making food at this facility, which is quiet, well-run and well maintained.

After decades of a Republican majority, the Borough has recently become majority Democratic in terms of registration. As of January 4, 2010, the Borough leadership is bipartisan, consisting of 4 Democrats and 1 Independent on Council, and a Republican Mayor.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	322		—
1920	418		29.8%
1930	396		−5.3%
1940	393		−0.8%
1950	901		129.3%
1960	793		−12.0%
1970	637		−19.7%
1980	652		2.4%
1990	831		27.5%
2000	943		13.5%
2010	1,159		22.9%
2020	1,212		4.6%

As of the 2020 Census, the racial makeup of the borough was 7.1% White, 20% African American, 0.1% Native American, 63.2% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 6.2% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race is 6.5% of the population. 63.8% of the borough's population were foreign-born.

In Census 2010, the racial makeup of the borough was 13.7% White, 20.1% African American, 0.6% Native American, 56.3% Asian, 0.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 4.1% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.5% of the population. 56.5% of the borough's population was foreign-born [1]^{[dead link]}.

In Census 2000, there were 943 people, 366 households, and 214 families residing in the borough. The population density was 16,557 people per square mile (5,201.3/km²). There were 420 housing units at an average density of 6,123.7 per square mile (2,316.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 21.31% White, 17.18% African American, 0.21% Native American, 54.29% Asian, 2.55% from other races, and 4.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.04% of the population.

As of Census 2020, There are 346 households, out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 24% had a male householder with no spouse present. The average family size is 3.64.

In the borough, the population is spread out. 24.3% under the age of 18, 75.7% 18 years of age or older and 9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years.

The median income for a household in the borough was $45,800, and the median income for a family was $44,732. The per capita income for the borough was $15,752. About 7.8% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.

Points of Interest

House in Millbourne

Flag of the United States at the corner of Brier Road and Garden Court

Libraries

The Upper Darby Sellers Memorial Free Library and Upper Darby Free Library Municipal Branch is within easy walking distance of Millbourne. A library card from the Upper Darby system allows access to the county-wide libraries and offers an excellent inter-library loan program as well as many local resources.

Recreational

The Cobbs Creek Bikeway runs from a corner at the eastern end of Millbourne, 63rd and Market Streets, to approximately 86th and Cobbs Creek Parkway. It is used by walkers and bicyclists as well as occasional all-terrain vehicles. Plans exist to eventually connect this bikeway to the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge. These plans got a boost from a TIGER grant allowing planning for the 58th Street Connector. There is some support for a rail-with-trail bike path along SEPTA's Route 100 line from Radnor to 69th Street.

The adjacent town, Upper Darby, is studying feasibility of a walking path on another old rail right of way, the Newtown Square Branch, which might eventually feed into Millbourne.

For bicyclists, it is feasible outside of rush hour to take a bicycle on the Market Frankford Line to reach 30th Street, and bicycle along the Schuylkill River Path to Valley Forge, and the Perkiomen Creek trail to Collegeville or beyond.

Healthcare

Health care services include Everest Medical Group within the borough and hospitals abound in the Philadelphia area easily accessible by car or the Market Frankford El. Delaware County Memorial Hospital (accessible by car or by the Route 101 or 102 trolleys) is a few miles away.

Food

A myriad of ethnic grocery stores is also within easy walking distance, allowing residents to buy home-made tofu, a wide range of Punjabi and other Indian foods, Halal chicken and lamb, a wide range of Asian greens, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean-made foods, Central American foods, and mainstream American foods within minutes of their homes.

Korean, Mexican, Peruvian, Colombian, Vietnamese, Caribbean, Punjabi and an award-winning pizza restaurant (and, until recently, a Filipino-owned restaurant where adobo was served) are all within walking distance.

External links

Historical Maps of Millbourne

Millbourne Official Website