Marion Center, Pennsylvania

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Marion Center is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 451 at the 2000 census.

Contents

[edit] History

The village was laid out by John Park in 1841 and named Marion after the Revolutionary War hero General Francis Marion. The Indiana Register first advertised lots for sale on September 1, 1841. Marion became incorporated as a borough in June 1869. The post office used a name distinct from the town (Brady Post Office) until December 26, 1890 when both were changed to Marion Center.

Marion Center's largest home, at 501 East Main Street, was an important stop on the Underground Railroad via the route through Indiana County to DuBois and then Canada.

[edit] Geography

Marion Center is located at 40°46′11″N, 79°2′57″W (40.769782, -79.049030)[1]. Marion Center has been assigned the zip code of 15759 and is a part of area code 724.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.8 square miles (1.9 km²), all of it land.

PA Route 403 runs through the center of Marion Center, entering from the south where it becomes Manor Street at the borough line. It then turns west onto Main Street and reaches its northern terminus just west of the borough at U.S. Route 119. The two principle streets of the borough run perpendicular to one another: Manor Street, north-south, and Main Street, east-west. Both streets are broken up by short, one-block streets about every two hundred feet so that a map looks like a mini-grid. Other important streets include Richmond Road, Deckers Point Road, Cemetery Road, and Park Avenue.

Marion Center is connected to the villages of Deckers Point (via Deckers Point Road, concurrent with Main Street to the borough line), Dixonville, PA (via South Manor Street, concurrent with PA-403 to the borough line), and Rochester Mills (via Richmond Road). Though US-119 does not pass through the borough, it connects the town to the micropolitan area of Indiana, PA to the south and the larger borough of Punxsutawney to the north.

[edit] Education

The borough is part of the Marion Center Area School District. The high school (Marion Center Area High School) and middle school (W.A McCreery Middle School) are located west of the borough between the borough line and U.S. Route 119. There are no institutions of higher education in the borough.

On June 21, 2002, Sam Erwin walked into the school district office with a .32-caliber pistol and wounded a secretary in the leg. Indiana County police said the incident concerned a dispute Erwin had with the district over his wife, Nancy Erwin (formerly Mogle), an algebra teacher, losing her teaching position in 2001 after teaching for 21 years. Sam Erwin pleaded guilty to one count of attempted criminal homicide and one count of aggravated assault. Nancy Erwin pleaded guilty to one count of complicity to aggravated assault. As a result, she lost her teaching license.[2] Nancy Erwin later claimed to be innocent but was ordered to finish her sentence. Her husband maintains her innocence in the act of violence.[3]

[edit] Industry

Marion Center exports concrete and cement products through its supplier, Marion Center Supply. The central offices of Marion Center Supply are located in Marion Center.

[edit] Finance

Marion Center Bank, a state-charted bank formerly named Marion Center National Bank, opened in the summer of 1905. In 1933, MCB earned the reputation of "the bank that did not close during the Depression" after President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered all banks to close for a Bank Holiday on March 4. Instead of closing, MCB pulled its screen down half-way and continued to operate.

In 1958, Marion Center Bank added a drive-thru window to its current facility. This was the first of its kind in Indiana County. A second lane was added in 1979. Marion Center Bank expanded to a second location in Clymer on December 6, 1984. Today, the bank has six locations in the tri-county area: Willow Springs (opened in April 1996), Dayton (1997), Big Run (1997), and Punxsutawney (2000).[4]

Marion Center Bank's main office is located at 501 East Main Street at the intersection with Manor Street.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 451 people, 173 households, and 129 families residing in the borough. The population density was 605.3 people per square mile (232.2/km²). There were 191 housing units at an average density of 256.4/sq mi (98.3/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 100.00% White.

There were 173 households out of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the borough the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $27,625, and the median income for a family was $31,875. Males had a median income of $23,125 versus $20,625 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $12,048. About 15.5% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government and Important Figures

The municipality type is borough. The borough office is located at 1000 North Manor Street. The borough council holds meetings on the first Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the municipal building. The current mayor is Kathy Plyler.

The borough is part of the 41st state senate district, represented by Patrick Stapleton and the 66th state house district, represented by Samuel Smith. John Murtha represents the borough as part of the 12th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives. Current senators for Pennsylvania are Bob Casey, Jr. and Arlen Specter.

Notable residents include local artist Diana Moretti, (1950-Present).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04027/266128.stm
  3. ^ http://www.pointpark.edu/default.aspx?id=2513
  4. ^ http://www.marioncenterbank.com/asp/aboutus.asp
  5. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[edit] External links


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Municipalities and communities of
Indiana County, Pennsylvania
County seat: Indiana
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