Bryn Mawr is located toward the center of what is known as the Main Line, a group of affluent Philadelphia suburban villages stretching from the city limits to Malvern. They became home to sprawling country estates belonging to Philadelphia's wealthiest families during the Gilded Age, and over the decades became a bastion of old money. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,879. Bryn Mawr is home to Bryn Mawr College, and contains a sizable amount of student rentals, with roughly half of the community’s population aged 18–24.
Until the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Main Line in 1869, the town, located in the old Welsh Tract, was known as Humphreysville, named for early settlers of the Humphreys family.[7] The town was renamed by railroad agent William H. Wilson after he acquired on behalf of the railroad the 283 acres (1.15 km2) that now compose Bryn Mawr.[8]
To encourage visitors the railroad constructed the Bryn Mawr Hotel adjacent to the new station, which opened in 1872. After a fire destroyed the original building, a distinctive new hotel designed by architect Frank Furness was built in 1889.[9] The second hotel building is currently occupied by The Baldwin School and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[10]
Bryn Mawr College was founded in 1885 originally as a Quaker institution but by 1893, it had become non-denominational.[11]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Bryn Mawr has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2), all land, some of which is in Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County.[13]
However, the Bryn Mawr ZIP Code of 19010 covers a larger area. As a result, the geographic term Bryn Mawr is often used in a sense that includes not only the CDP, but also other areas that share the ZIP Code. These other areas include the community of Rosemont within Lower Merion Township and Radnor Township, and various other areas within Lower Merion Township, Radnor Township, and Haverford Township. Bryn Mawr is a part of the Philadelphia Main Line, a string of picturesque towns located along a railroad that connects Philadelphia with points west. Some other Main Line communities include Ardmore, Wynnewood, Narberth, Bala Cynwyd and Villanova.
As of the 2010 census,[citation needed], there were 3,779 people, 1,262 households, and 497 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 7,033.7 people per square mile (2,715.7 people/km2). There were 1,481 housing units at an average density of 2,377.2 per square mile (917.8/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 74.0% White, 10.5% BlackorAfrican American, 0.0% Native American, 10.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.2% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. 4.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 21.1% were of Irish, 10.8% Italian, 6.8% German and 6.4% English ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 1,404 households,[when?] out of which 13.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.8% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 62.6% were non-families. 41.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 8.4% under the age of 18, 48.1% from 18 to 24, 21.0% from 25 to 44, 12.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 46.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 42.4 males.
As of the U.S. census, the median income for a household in the CDP was $47,721, and the median income for a family was $66,369. Males had a median income of $40,625 versus $31,618 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $23,442. About 5.3% of families and 21.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.[15]
As of the 2000 census, the Bryn Mawr ZIP code was home to 21,485 people with a median family income of $110,956.[16][17]
Bryn Mawr residents of Lower Merion Township attend schools in the Lower Merion School District; all residents of the Bryn Mawr CDP are in Lower Merion Township and therefore attend LMSD schools.
Woodrow Wilson, 28th president of the United States, taught government at Bryn Mawr College, then at Princeton University, and later served as governor of New Jersey[21]
^"Bryn Mawr Hospital, founded 1893 • A Brief History". brynmawrpa.org. Archived from the original on August 17, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2018. In 1892 the country was staggering under an economic depression and on the verge of financial collapse, but the desire of Dr. George Gerhard, an Ardmore physician, to build a hospital in the growing suburbs of Philadelphia ... When the Hospital opened in 1893, Dr. George Gerhard and Dr. Robert Gamble were in charge of the public needs.
‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent township or townships *The census-designated place is entirely in Lower Merion Township, but there are adjacent areas not in the CDP, with "Bryn Mawr, PA" postal addresses, in adjacent townships
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