Clearfield, Pennsylvania

Clearfield, Pennsylvania
Borough
The Clearfield County courthouse
Map showing Clearfield in Clearfield County
Map showing Clearfield County in Pennsylvania
Clearfield, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 41°01′21″N 78°26′25″W / 41.02250°N 78.44028°W / 41.02250; -78.44028Coordinates: 41°01′21″N 78°26′25″W / 41.02250°N 78.44028°W / 41.02250; -78.44028
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Clearfield
Settled	1805
Incorporated	1840
Government
• Type	Borough Council
• Mayor	James P. Schell
Area
• Total	1.9 sq mi (4.9 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	6,215
• Density	3,649.7/sq mi (1,406.7/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Zip code	16830
Area code(s)	814

Clearfield is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,215 at the 2010 census, and is part of the DuBois, Pennsylvania Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is the county seat of Clearfield County.^[1]

History

There were many trade routes and paths for Native Americans living and passing through Clearfield County up to the 1600s. One major Indian path at the time was the Great Shamokin Path, which started near, at the time, the Indian village of Shamokin now Sunbury, and continued west past Lock Haven, to Chinklacamoose,^[2] now the borough of Clearfield. Finally the path ended at the village of Kittanning, which is now the modern town of the same name.

National Register of Historic Places

Clearfield is home to four of Clearfield County's list of twenty National Registered Historic Places.

• Clearfield County Courthouse
• Dimeling Hotel
• Old Town Historic District
• Thomas Murray House

All-American City Award

In 1966, Clearfield was awarded the All-American City Award, given annually to the top ten cities in the United States. The other nine cities included in the top ten list in 1966 were, Pinellas County, Malden, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Cohoes, Greensboro, Richmond and Seattle.

Geography

Clearfield is located at 41°01′21″N 78°26′25″W / 41.022555°N 78.440233°W / 41.022555; -78.440233.^[3], along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. It is also located near the confluence of Clearfield Creek.

Clearfield Neighborhoods

The borough of Clearfield has many neighborhoods, not all of which are within the borough boundary. These locations are not separate communities, and have the same zip code as Clearfield.

• East End is a neighborhood within the borough of Clearfield. The area is located on the northeastern portion of the borough. The northern portion of East End is U.S. Route 322. The southern part is made up of Woodland Road and Cemetery Road ending at the old Hillcrest Cemetery.^[4] Denny's Beer Barrel Pub is located at the eastern tip of the neighborhood near US 322. Located very near to East End, is the former Bionol Ethanol Plant, now a grain processing plant. Also just to the north of the plant is the Pennsylvania Lines Headquarters of the R.J. Corman Railroad.^[5]

• Golden Rod sometimes referred to as Golden Rod Farms, is located along U.S. 322 to the east about a mile from Clearfield and very close to Lock Haven Clearfield Campus, and is not with the borough boundary. The neighborhood is near the confluence of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and Clearfield Creek. The Clearfield Mall as well as Dairy Queen are located in this neighborhood of Clearfield.

• Hillsdale is located to the east, outside of the borough of Clearfield. The neighborhood is higher up on a hill, that can overlook the borough. The boundary for this area is roughly from High Street to the west, to the Hillcrest Cemetery to the north, to Pennsylvania Route 879 to the east. Lock Haven University's^[6] Clearfield branch campus was once located in Hillsdale, but relocated to its current location along U.S. Route 322, about 2 miles from downtown.

• Kerr or more commonly known as Kerr Addition is located on the north side of the West Branch Susquehanna River when the river makes a turn to the east. It is across the river from the neighborhood of East End, and is not within the borough of Clearfield. The Clearfield County Career and Technology Center is located in Kerr Addition as well as the major businesses of Big Lots, Tractor Supply Co. and Save-A-Lot. Kerr Addition is very near to the community of Plymptonville, also part of Clearfield, but considered a census-designated place.

• South Park or sometimes South Side is located mainly in the southern portion of the borough of Clearfield. It covers an area from the east bank of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River to Pennsylvania Route 879 to the south and east to Pennsylvania Route 153 to the north. Many old smaller mansion style houses are located in the neighborhood which overlooks the river.

• West Side is a very well known area of Clearfield, and is inside the borough boundary. West Side is made up of many Mid 19th century homes, located to the west of the West Branch Susquehanna River, north to U.S. Route 322. The area is the location of many businesses and churches, some of which use West Side as a title. One of the bigger churches, West Side United Methodist Church^[7] is located in the neighborhood. Clearfield Hospital is also located on West Side. The Clearfield County Fair, one of the biggest events in Pennsylvania, occurs at the Clearfield County Fairgrounds, located in the area.

Schools

• Clearfield Area School District

• Bradford Township Elementary School
• Centre Elementary School
• Clearfield Area Elementary School
• Clearfield Area Middle School
• Clearfield Area High School
• Girard-Goshen Elementary School

• Clearfield Alliance Christian School
• Joseph and Elizabeth Shaw Public Library
• St. Francis School

Demographics

As of the census^[9] of 2010, there were 6,215 people, a drop of 6.3% from the 2000 census.3,070 households, and 1,740 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,649.7 people per square mile (1,406.7/km²). There were 3,326 housing units at an average density of 1,830.6 per square mile (705.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 93.1% White, 2.6% African American, 0.08% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population.

There were 3,070 households out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.3% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the borough the population was spread out with 20.4% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $27,414, and the median income for a family was $40,095. Males had a median income of $29,972 versus $22,607 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $17,374. About 8.3% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), of which, 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (3.70%) is water.

Notable people

• Doug Brocail-Baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros.
• Earl Caldwell. Former New York Times reporter and columnist, and the first African-American to have a regular column in a major national newspaper. Central figure in a major Supreme Court case about the protection of journalists' sources. Now a host on Pacifica's WBAI radio in New York City
• Otto Eppers-Cartoonist and Illustrator who as part of a stunt successfully jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge at 17 years of age.
• Edward Scofield-Governor of Wisconsin (1897–1901).
• William Irvin Swoope-Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1923 to 1927.
• William A. Wallace-US Senator of the Democratic Party who served from 1875 to 1881.
• Brian Scott Venerick^[11] - Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan Veteran, Program Analyst for the Veterans Health Administration^[12]
• Powell Weaver, organist
• John C. Arnold, Justice on the Pennsylvania State Superior Court from 1945 to 1952 and the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court 1952 until his death in 1958.

Media

Television

Clearfield receives television programming from the Johnstown-Altoona-State College, PA media market.

See also

• Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, which has gained national fame for its enormous hamburgers

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clearfield, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

• History of Clearfield Borough
• Cycling in Clearfield, PA

v t e Municipalities and communities of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States County seat: Clearfield City DuBois Boroughs Brisbin Burnside Chester Hill Clearfield Coalport Curwensville Falls Creek‡ Glen Hope Grampian Houtzdale Irvona Mahaffey New Washington Newburg Osceola Mills Ramey Troutville Wallaceton Westover Townships Beccaria Bell Bigler Bloom Boggs Bradford Brady Burnside Chest Cooper Covington Decatur Ferguson Girard Goshen Graham Greenwood Gulich Huston Jordan Karthaus Knox Lawrence Morris Penn Pike Pine Sandy Union Woodward CDPs Allport Bigler Grassflat Hawk Run Hyde Kylertown Morrisdale Oklahoma Plymptonville Sandy Treasure Lake West Decatur Unincorporated communities Helvetia Lumber City Sylvan Grove Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties