Donora, Pennsylvania

Donora is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, approximately south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River. The population was 4,558 as of the 2020 census.

Donora was incorporated in 1901. It takes its name from a portmanteau of tin plate and steel magnate William Donner and Nora Mellon (1878-1973), wife of banker Andrew W. Mellon. The borough's nickname is "The Home of Champions", mainly because of the large number of famous athletes who have called Donora their home, including Baseball Hall of Fame outfielders Stan Musial and Ken Griffey Jr.

During the 1948 Donora smog, air pollution killed 20 people and caused respiratory problems for 6,000 of the 14,000 residents. Agriculture, coal-mining, steel-making, wire-making, and other industries were important to Donora early in its history; its Rust Belt location has lost most of its industrial capacity. It is in the "Mon Valley", downriver from Charleroi and upstream of Braddock. In 1911 Donora was the 3rd wealthiest borough in the United States.

History

File:Map of Donora PA 1901.jpg

A pictorial map of Donora from 1901

In 1794, the Whiskey Insurrectionists held several meetings at Fells Church, approximately east of Donora.

A trolley line opened in Donora on December 15, 1901, linking First and McKean, and Fifteenth Street and Meldon. It was extended in 1911 to Black Diamond to connect to the Charleroi to Pittsburgh interurban trolley. The line was abandoned on May 5, 1953.

The town was the scene of the infamous Donora Smog of 1948. Between October 26 and October 31, 1948, an air inversion trapped industrial effluent (air pollution) from the American Steel and Wire plant and Donora Zinc Works. During this spike in air pollution, 6,000 people suffered respiratory problems and extreme discomfort. "In three days, 20 people died... After the inversion lifted, another 50 died, including Lukasz Musial, the father of baseball great Stan Musial. Hundreds more finished the rest of their lives with damaged lungs and hearts." The incident made national headlines. Today, the town is home to the Donora Smog Museum which tells the impact of the Donora Smog on the air quality standards enacted by the federal government in subsequent years.

Donora is home "Cement City", 80 "poured in place" concrete homes built in the early 1900s as employee housing for the Donora Wire and Steel Mill using a modular method championed by Thomas Edison. The world's second largest such housing tract, the Cement City Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, along with the Webster Donora Bridge.

The Borough of Donora and surrounding areas have also been utilized as the filming location for several films and television shows, including most recently the American television drama series American Rust in 2021.

Geography

Donora is located at (40.175879, −79.861264).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and (7.32%) is water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Donora has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Surrounding and adjacent neighborhoods

Donora is only bordered by land with Carroll Township to the north, south and west. Across the Monongahela River to the east, Donora runs adjacent with Rostraver Township in Westmoreland County.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Template:Sronly	%±
1910	8,174		—
1920	14,131		%
1930	13,905		%
1940	13,180		%
1950	12,186		%
1960	11,131		%
1970	8,825		%
1980	7,524		%
1990	5,928		%
2000	5,653		%
2010	4,781		%
2020	4,558		%
2021 (est.)	4,526		%
Sources:

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,653 people, 2,469 households, and 1,434 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 2,958 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 82.10% White, 14.84% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 2.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.02% of the population.

There were 2,469 households, out of which 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.9% were married couples living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 37.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 25.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.4 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $27,939, and the median income for a family was $37,176. Males had a median income of $33,725 versus $22,346 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $17,893. About 12.4% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.2% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

Though many group Donora in a class of Western Pennsylvania towns and cities known collectively as the "Rust Belt" because of the demise of the once prolific steel industry, the town continues to be a center for industry and manufacturing. On the site of the former steel mills now stands a large industrial park with nearly 30 tenants that is managed by MMIDA (Mid Mon Valley Industrial Development Authority).

Government

Donora is a borough and consists of an elected mayor and an elected borough council. For nearly three decades, John "Chummy" Lignelli was the mayor of the Borough of Donora, until he retired at age 93. The current mayor is Donald Pavelko.

Schools

Donora is part of Ringgold School District, which includes the municipalities of Donora, Monongahela, Carroll Township, Nottingham Township, New Eagle, Finleyville, and Union Township.

Notable people

• Frances Dorothy Acomb, historian and academic
• Mary Amdur, scientist, investigated the 1948 Donora smog
• Devra Davis, scientist and activist
• Steve Filipowicz, professional football and baseball player
• Arnold Galiffa, All-American and professional football player player; inductee to the College Football Hall of Fame
• Ken Griffey Jr., Baseball Hall of Fame centerfielder
• Ken Griffey Sr., Major League Baseball player; his father was Joseph "Buddy" Griffey, a local athlete who was a teammate of Stan Musial on the Donora High School baseball team
• Stan Musial, baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals and an inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Dan Towler, running back for the Los Angeles Rams

Further reading

• Jacobs, Elizabeth T., Jefferey L. Burgess, and Mark B. Abbott. "The Donora smog revisited: 70 years after the event that inspired the clean air act." American journal of public health 108.S2 (2018): S85-S88.
• McPhee, Andy. Donora Death Fog: Clean Air and the Tragedy of a Pennsylvania Mill Town (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023)
• University of Pittsburgh Archives Service Center, Bruce Drisbach-American Steel & Wire Company Photograph Collection (Donora, Pennsylvania, 1915–1917)