West Decatur, Pennsylvania

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West Decatur, Pennsylvania
Census-designated place
West Decatur is located in Pennsylvania
West Decatur
West Decatur
Location in Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°55′40″N 78°16′48″W / 40.92778°N 78.28000°W / 40.92778; -78.28000Coordinates: 40°55′40″N 78°16′48″W / 40.92778°N 78.28000°W / 40.92778; -78.28000
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyClearfield
TownshipBoggs
Area
 • Total1.4 sq mi (3.6 km2)
 • Land1.4 sq mi (3.6 km2)
 • Water0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation
1,550 ft (470 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total533
 • Density381/sq mi (147.0/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
16878
FIPS code42-82792
GNIS feature ID1211956

West Decatur is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census the population of West Decatur was 533.[1]

It lies in the southeast corner of Boggs Township along Blue Ball Road just south of U.S. Route 322 between Wallaceton and Philipsburg.[2] It was also known as Blue Ball, for the nearby blue ball clay deposits,[3] but the local post office received the name West Decatur.[4]

West Decatur lies along the old Philipsburg and Susquehanna Turnpike, which was part of a through route between Philadelphia and Erie, and is thus now called Old Erie Pike. The community was also on the Clearfield Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, opened by the Tyrone and Clearfield Railway in mid-1868 from Philipsburg to Blue Ball, and extended to Clearfield in 1869.[5] Successor Conrail sold it to R.J. Corman Railroad/Pennsylvania Lines in 1996, but it has since been abandoned.

References[]

  1. ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): West Decatur CDP, Pennsylvania". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  2. ^ Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, 2009 General Highway Map: Clearfield County, Pennsylvania[permanent dead link], accessed July 2009
  3. ^ Federal Writers' Project, Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State, 1940, p. 468
  4. ^ Pennsylvania Department of Highways, General Highway Map: Clearfield County, Pennsylvania[permanent dead link], 1941: shows "Blue Ball (West Decatur P.O.)"
  5. ^ Christopher T. Baer, Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society, PRR Chronology, 1868 and 1869, accessed July 2009
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