Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania

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Stonycreek Township is a township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,221 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Pittsburgh Tri-State.

Stonycreek Township and its principal village, Shanksville, gained worldwide attention on September 11, 2001, when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed here, killing all aboard. Flight 93 was one of four airliners hijacked that day as part of the al-Qaeda terror attack on the United States. It is widely held that the Flight 93 hijackers intended to use the craft to destroy the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Most people believe that the crash here instead was a result of a struggle over control of the plane between hijackers and passengers, who learned of the plane's intended fate through cellphone calls to and from family members. The Shanksville community intends to preserve the Flight 93 crash site as a historical memorial.

[edit] Geography

It is located approximately at 40.01°N by 78.88°W, about 3 miles WSW of Indian Lake, Pennsylvania.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 159.1 km² (61.4 mi²). 158.4 km² (61.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (0.44%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 2,221 people, 820 households, and 634 families residing in the township. The population density was 14.0/km² (36.3/mi²). There were 1,033 housing units at an average density of 6.5/km² (16.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.96% White, 0.09% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.05% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.23% of the population.

There were 820 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.3% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.6% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the township the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $33,828, and the median income for a family was $38,418. Males had a median income of $30,236 versus $21,714 for females. The per capita income for the township was $14,463. About 9.6% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.