It is debated as to whether the town was named for the high spire of the church that could be seen from the Susquehanna River, or for the town in Bavaria where the original settlers and founders of the town were from. Either way, the town has a rich history of logging, the Pennsylvania canal system, candy, potato chips, whiskey, and hard working folks. It is a quaint little town nestled in between the towns of Steelton and Middletown. The Highspire High School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
Geography
Highspire is located in southern Dauphin County at , on the northeast bank of the Susquehanna River. Interstate 76, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, curves around the west and north sides of the borough, with indirect access from Exit 247. Pennsylvania Route 230 is the main road through the borough, leading northwest through Steelton to Harrisburg and southeast to Middletown and to Elizabethtown. According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of, of which is land and, or 2.96%, is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,720 people, 1,279 households, and 689 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,762.6 people per square mile. There were 1,373 housing units at an average density of 1,899.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 86.62% White, 8.20% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 2.17% from other races, and 2.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.11% of the population. There were 1,279 households, out of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.3% were married couplesliving together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.83. In the borough the population was spread out, with 19.8% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $32,083, and the median income for a family was $40,398. Males had a median income of $31,269 versus $24,188 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,781. About 5.1% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.
