Indiana, Pennsylvania

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Indiana, Pennsylvania
Borough
Downtown Indiana
Location of Indiana in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
Indiana Location of Indiana in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Indiana Indiana (the United States) Show map of PennsylvaniaShow map of the United StatesShow all
Coordinates: 40°37′N 79°9′W / 40.617°N 79.150°W / 40.617; -79.150Coordinates: 40°37′N 79°9′W / 40.617°N 79.150°W / 40.617; -79.150
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Indiana
Settled	1805
Incorporated	1816
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
• Mayor	George Hood
• Manager	Bradley Gotshall
Area [1]
• Total	1.76 sq mi (4.57 km2)
• Land	1.76 sq mi (4.56 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2)
Elevation	1,301 ft (397 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	13,975
• Estimate  (2019)[2]	13,167
• Density	7,485.50/sq mi (2,889.70/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Zip code	15701
FIPS code	42-36816
Website	www.indianaboro.com

Indiana is a borough in and the county seat of Indiana County in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.^[3] The population was 13,975 at the 2010 census, and since 2013 has been part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area^[4] after being a long time part of the Pittsburgh and Johnstown television markets. Indiana is also the principal city of the Indiana, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The borough and the region as a whole promotes itself as the "Christmas Tree Capital of the World" because the national Christmas Tree Grower's Association was founded there. There are still many Christmas tree farms in the area. The largest employer in the borough today is Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the second-largest of 14 PASSHE schools in the state.^[5]

History[]

The Indiana Weekly Messenger was published in the town between 1874 and 1946.^[6]

The Downtown Indiana Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. Also listed on the National Register are Breezedale, Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway Indiana Passenger Station, Silas M. Clark House, Graff's Market, James Mitchell House, Old Indiana County Courthouse, Indiana Borough 1912 Municipal Building, Indiana Armory, Old Indiana County Jail and Sheriff's Office, and John Sutton Hall.^[7]

Indiana Mall is the area's major shopping center.

Industry[]

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For decades the major industry of the town was coal mining, but as mines closed throughout the latter half of the 20th-century the area has had ongoing economic difficulty. Natural gas surveying and production have picked up some of the slack, and Indiana serves as the home of the largest privately owned drilling company in the United States, S.W. Jack Drilling Company. It counts a number of other production and service firms as members of the community, as well as three publicly traded companies: S&T Bancorp, Inc., First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, and Superior Well Services Inc. As well, it holds one of the nation's largest independent insurance agencies: The Reschini Group, which was founded by the nation's first female insurance agent, Rose Reschini, in 1938.

A large section of the southern part of the town, and bordering the university is occupied by Kovalchick Salvage Co. The land was recently purchased by the university and it plans to rejuvenate part of what is considered the largest eyesore in the community. Kovalchick holds large amounts of railroad salvage and aluminum. As of December 2008, roughly fifty percent of the salvage materials held by have been cleared or otherwise removed from publicly viewable land.

Notable people[]

Indiana was the birthplace and hometown of actor Jimmy Stewart (1908–1997),^[8] who was born there and lived at 104 North 7th Street. Despite the fact that he left the area upon graduating from high school, the town always followed his career closely, with the local newspaper periodically publishing rumors in his later years that Stewart planned to return there to live. On May 20, 1983, Stewart was given a 75th birthday celebration by the town. Before Stewart's death, a museum to his memory was opened on the third floor of the local public library, and a bronze statue of Stewart was erected in his honor at the county courthouse during his 75th birthday. The town annually holds a Jimmy Stewart film festival as part of the town's "It's a Wonderful Life" holiday celebration. ^[9]

Environmentalist author Edward Abbey (1927–1989) was born at the Indiana hospital and raised in Indiana and near the Indiana County towns and villages of Saltsburg, Home, and Tanoma. His first novel, Jonathan Troy (1954), is set entirely in a thinly disguised Indiana, and his novel The Fool's Progress (1988), which he called his "fat masterpiece", is an autobiographical account of his growing up in this area and his imagined attempt to return home after a lifetime spent mostly in the desert Southwest. His nonfiction book Appalachian Wilderness (1970) lovingly describes Indiana and Home. There is a Pennsylvania state historical marker for Abbey.

• James H. Bronson, Medal of Honor recipient in American Civil War
• Renée Fleming, Lyric Soprano and National Medal of Arts recipient who has sung in world's most prestigious opera houses; Tony Award nominee for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel
• Connie Kunkle (1958-2016), Former ShopHQ host, singer and television personality
• Chris Kuzneski, author
• Ernest W. Lewis, Arizona territorial jurist
• Paul McCandless, Grammy Award-winning jazz woodwind player and composer
• Jim Nance, football player inducted into New England Patriots Hall of Fame in 2009, was born in Indiana and graduated from Indiana High School
• Sandy McPeak, actor
• Harriet Earhart Monroe (1842–1927), lecturer, educator, writer, traveling producer of religious stage plays
• Tawni O'Dell, author
• Michael Ryan, Major League Baseball player
• Joe Saylor, Jazz percussionist for Stay Human
• Edward Scofield, 19th Governor of Wisconsin; lived in Indiana, PA
• Steve Wheatcroft, professional golfer
• Mary Wiggins, composer
• Jack Sonni, guitarist and writer

Geography[]

Indiana, Pennsylvania is located at

40°37′16″N 79°9′18″W / 40.62111°N 79.15500°W / 40.62111; -79.15500 (40.6211, -79.1549).^[10] The borough is an independent municipality surrounded by White Township. For some time in the 1990s there was discussion of merging the borough and township, but the matter was never acted upon.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²), all of it land.

Climate[]

Indiana has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), with warm summers and cold, snowy winters. Precipitation is highest in the summer months, falling as snow usually between November and April.

Demographics[]

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1820	317		—
1830	433		36.6%
1840	674		55.7%
1850	963		42.9%
1860	1,331		38.2%
1870	1,605		20.6%
1880	1,907		18.8%
1890	1,963		2.9%
1900	4,142		111.0%
1910	5,749		38.8%
1920	7,043		22.5%
1930	9,569		35.9%
1940	10,050		5.0%
1950	11,743		16.8%
1960	13,005		10.7%
1970	16,100		23.8%
1980	16,051		−0.3%
1990	15,174		−5.5%
2000	14,895		−1.8%
2010	13,975		−6.2%
2019 (est.)	13,167	[2]	−5.8%
Sources:[13][14][15][16]

As of the census^[15] of 2010, there were 13,975 people,^[17] and 4,624 households residing in the borough. The population density in 2000 was 8,440.0 people per square mile (3,267.6/km²). There were 5,096 housing units at an average density of 2,887.6 per square mile (1,117.9/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 91.51% White, 5.19% African American, 0.07% Native American, 1.89% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population.

There were 4,804 households, out of which 14.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.5% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 65.3% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 8.2% under the age of 18, 59.4% from 18 to 24, 13.7% from 25 to 44, 10.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $21,279, and the median income for a family was $47,768. Males had a median income of $32,333 versus $27,831 for females.^[18] The per capita income for the borough was $12,317. About 11.2% of families and 44.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.3% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education[]

Indiana University of Pennsylvania (or IUP) is a public university founded in 1875, originally founded as a Normal School.

For public K-12 education, the Indiana Area School District supports four neighborhood elementary schools (Eisenhower, Horace Mann, East Pike, and Ben Franklin), a junior high school (Indiana Area Junior High School), and a high school (Indiana Area Senior High School), which are accredited and recognized for quality. A Catholic-affiliated Pre-K through grade 6 program is offered at the St. Bernard School,^[19] in addition to other various parochial schools for different denominations.^{[citation needed]}

Early care and education programs for pre-k children are available. The non-profit IndiKids or (Indiana County Child Day Care Centers) offers NAEYC-accredited care for children of students and community members on the campus of IUP and throughout the community.^{[citation needed]}

Local media[]

Indiana's local newspaper is the Indiana Gazette. Indiana is also home to several radio stations:

FM stations
Call letters	Frequency	Format	Location	Owner
WFRJ	88.9	Religious	Johnstown	Family Stations, Inc.
WQEJ	89.7	Classical	Johnstown	WQED Multimedia
WIUP	90.1	College	Indiana	Indiana University of Pennsylvania
WQMU	92.5	Hot AC	Indiana	St. Pier Group, LLC
WFGI	95.5	Country	Johnstown	Forever Broadcasting
WKYE	96.5	Adult Contemporary	Johnstown	Forever Broadcasting
WFGY	98.1	Country	Altoona	Forever Broadcasting
WRKW	99.1	Rock	Ebensburg	Forever Broadcasting
WFSJ	103.7	Christian Contemporary	Indiana	Godstock Ministries, Inc.
WMUG	105.1	Religious	Indiana	The Christian Witness, Inc.
WLCY	106.3	Country	Blairsville	Renda Media

AM stations
Call letters	Frequency	Format	Location	Owner
WCCS	1160	News/Talk	Homer City	Renda Media
WDAD	1450	Oldies	Indiana	Renda Media

Indiana receives Television stations from both Pittsburgh and markets.

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Indiana, Pennsylvania.

• Official website