Boswell, Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boswell is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,364 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] Geography
Boswell is located at (40.160329, -79.027712)GR1, about 22 miles southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.9 km² (0.7 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 1,364 people, 608 households, and 370 families residing in the borough. The population density was 711.7/km² (1,852.2/mi²). There were 681 housing units at an average density of 355.3/km² (924.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.27% White, 0.15% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.07% Asian, and 0.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.07% of the population.
There were 608 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the borough the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $20,875, and the median income for a family was $26,667. Males had a median income of $26,023 versus $18,958 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $12,036. About 26.4% of families and 29.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.1% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
Boswell was incorporated on February 22, 1904 by Thomas Taylor Boswell, the first president and supervisor of the Merchants Coal Company. Mr. Boswell's company purchased 14,000 acres (57 km²) of mineral rights under local farmland and laid out 1,600 lots for coal company houses to house the miners for its new deep coal mine just to the north.
Merchants attempted to build Boswell to be a notch above surrounding coal company towns in that plans included a central business district, a high school, and homes constructed from brick, as opposed to the wood used elsewhere. This also helped to prevent the spread of fire, in the event that one would break out. Many of the original brick homes are still standing, with much of their original integrity. At its economic peak shortly after World War II, Boswell boasted two movie theatres, three department stores, a bank, several jewelry stores, a druggist, two funeral homes, three grocery stores, nearly a dozen restaurants and taverns, a lumber yard, and a weekly newspaper. Earlier, pre-Prohibition, Boswell also boasted its own brewery.
The mine, Orenda Mine #1, extracted high quality, semi-bituminous coal. A steam engine hoisted the coal to the surface. The hoist pulled the coal cars up a tipple that was 1,080 feet long, 92 feet high, and 60 feet wide. In 1920, this was the largest coal tipple in the world. At its prime, 900 men were employed and over 3,000 tons of coal were mined daily. The company was eventually re-named to the United Coal Company and in 1918 it became the Davis Coal Company.
Boswell's streets generally run perpendicular to its avenues, in a grid. Many of the avenues in Boswell are named after coal company officials. For example:
- Hower Avenue, after Charles E. Hower, a coal company engineer
- Morris Avenue, after W.H. Morris, the General Superintendent of the mine
- Atkinson Way, after W.G. Atkinson, the Vice President of Merchants Coal Company
At the same time, the borough's street names can provide a geograhpy lesson, following the flow of water from Boswell to the seas, with two exceptions made for streets in the central business district. Street names from north to south are: Quemahoning, Stonycreek, Center (in place of "Conemaugh" for the Conemaugh River), Main (in place of "Kiskiminetas" for the Kiskiminetas River), Allegheny, Ohio, Mississippi, Mexico (for the Gulf of Mexico), Altantic and Pacific.
The mine closed on March 29, 1939 due to the excessive cost of transporting coal to the surface from three miles underground. The tipple was dismantled in 1940, though some of the tipple's abutments still stand today. After the mine closed a slow economic decline set in. However, many businesses survived well into the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1970, the high school was rechristened as North Star High School. It is the successor from the earlier Boswell, Jenner Boswell, Jenner-Boswell-Jennerstown, and Forbes High Schools. The high school is approaching its centenary and currently serves the two surrounding townships (Jenner and Quemahoning) and three boroughs (Jennerstown, Stoystown and Hooversville) in addition to Boswell residents. Boswell now is primarily a bedroom community. A community forest and picnic area, named Orenda Park, has been established around them and is maintained by the Boswell Area Historical Society. Boswell was designated as a National Historic District in 1994.
[edit] References
Boswell Area Historical Society, 417 Main Street, P O Box 39, Boswell, PA 15531.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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County Seat: Somerset |
|---|---|
| Boroughs |
Addison | Benson | Berlin | Boswell | Callimont | Casselman | Central City | Confluence | Garrett | Hooversville | Indian Lake | Jennerstown | Meyersdale | New Baltimore | New Centerville | Paint | Rockwood | Salisbury | Seven Springs | Shanksville | Somerset | Stoystown | Ursina | Wellersburg | Windber |
| Townships |
Addison | Allegheny | Black | Brothersvalley | Conemaugh | Elk Lick | Fairhope | Greenville | Jefferson | Jenner | Larimer | Lincoln | Lower Turkeyfoot | Middlecreek | Milford | Northampton | Ogle | Paint | Quemahoning | Shade | Somerset | Southampton | Stonycreek | Summit | Upper Turkeyfoot |
| Communities and CDPs |
