Oakdale Borough was incorporated in 1892.[4] On May 18, 1918, a TNT explosion in a local chemical factory killed 200 people.[5] On September 17, 2004, Oakdale was devastated by a flood resulting from the rain brought by the remnants of category 5 Hurricane Ivan. The downpour from Ivan followed a steady rain that had covered the Allegheny County area from category 4 Hurricane Frances, which struck the area just 10 days before Ivan hit.[6] The flooding caused a large-scale evacuation of the community, and brought Red Cross volunteers and National Guard members to the area in an effort to control the confusion. The flooding destroyed businesses, many of which never reopened, and displaced many residents whose homes were condemned.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2), all land.
As of the 2000 census,[12] there were 1,551 people, 604 households, and 445 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,956.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,141.3/km2). There were 640 housing units at an average density of 1,219.8 per square mile (471.0/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.19% White, 0.90% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.39% from other races, and 0.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.71% of the population.
There were 604 households, out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.1% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 30.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $46,574, and the median income for a family was $55,865. Males had a median income of $37,125 versus $26,620 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $21,392. About 2.9% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 1.1% of those age 65 or over.
Oakdale's main road is Pennsylvania Route 978, locally known as Clinton Ave. The road bisects the town while running in a generally northwest-southeast pattern. Oakdale is located approximately equidistant from Pennsylvania Route 576 and U.S. Route 22-30.[a] Pittsburgh's Panhandle Trail also runs through central Oakdale.
Rail transport today into and through Oakdale is nonexistent, as the last freight railway has been converted into the Panhandle Trail. Public transport is also nonexistent within the town, aside from bus service to Pittsburgh Technical College.
