Indiana is a
boroughA borough is an administrative division of various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
in
Indiana County, PennsylvaniaIndiana County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2000, its population was 89,605. Indiana County was created on March 30, 1803, from parts of Westmoreland and Clearfield Counties, and is probably named for the Indiana Territory. Its county seat is Indiana...
, United States, part of the
Pittsburgh DMAThe Pittsburgh DMA is a regional Designated Market Area defined by the Nielsen company as part of its ratings system....
. The population was 14,895 at the 2000 census. It is the
county seatA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of
Indiana CountyIndiana County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2000, its population was 89,605. Indiana County was created on March 30, 1803, from parts of Westmoreland and Clearfield Counties, and is probably named for the Indiana Territory. Its county seat is Indiana...
.
The borough and the region as a whole promotes itself as the "
Christmas TreeThe Christmas tree is a decorated artificial or living tree, a popular tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. Normally an evergreen coniferous tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, a Christmas tree is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful ornaments during...
Capital of the World" because the national Christmas Tree Grower's Association was founded there. There are still a large number of Christmas tree farms in the area. The largest employer in the borough today is the
Indiana University of PennsylvaniaIndiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university located in the borough of Indiana, Indiana County ,Pennsylvania, USA, northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...
, the largest of 14
PASSHEThe Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a large public university system in the United States. It is the tenth-largest university system in the United States and 43rd largest in the world...
schools in the state.
For decades the major industry of the town was
coalCoal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mining, but as mines closed throughout the latter half of the twentieth century the area has had ongoing economic difficulty.
Indiana is a
boroughA borough is an administrative division of various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
in
Indiana County, PennsylvaniaIndiana County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2000, its population was 89,605. Indiana County was created on March 30, 1803, from parts of Westmoreland and Clearfield Counties, and is probably named for the Indiana Territory. Its county seat is Indiana...
, United States, part of the
Pittsburgh DMAThe Pittsburgh DMA is a regional Designated Market Area defined by the Nielsen company as part of its ratings system....
. The population was 14,895 at the 2000 census. It is the
county seatA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of
Indiana CountyIndiana County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2000, its population was 89,605. Indiana County was created on March 30, 1803, from parts of Westmoreland and Clearfield Counties, and is probably named for the Indiana Territory. Its county seat is Indiana...
.
The borough and the region as a whole promotes itself as the "
Christmas TreeThe Christmas tree is a decorated artificial or living tree, a popular tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. Normally an evergreen coniferous tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, a Christmas tree is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful ornaments during...
Capital of the World" because the national Christmas Tree Grower's Association was founded there. There are still a large number of Christmas tree farms in the area. The largest employer in the borough today is the
Indiana University of PennsylvaniaIndiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university located in the borough of Indiana, Indiana County ,Pennsylvania, USA, northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...
, the largest of 14
PASSHEThe Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a large public university system in the United States. It is the tenth-largest university system in the United States and 43rd largest in the world...
schools in the state.
Industry
For decades the major industry of the town was
coalCoal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mining, but as mines closed throughout the latter half of the twentieth century the area has had ongoing economic difficulty. Natural gas surveying and production have picked up some of the slack, and Indiana serves as the home of the largest privately owned drilling company in the United States, S.W. Jack Drilling Company. It also counts a number of other production and service firms as members of the community, as well as three publicly traded companies: S&T Bancorp, Inc., First Commonwealth Financial Corp., and Superior Well Services Inc.- unique considering the size of the community. In addition it holds one of the nation's largest independent insurance agencies: The Reschini Group - which was started by the nation's first female insurance agent Rose Reschini in 1938.
A large section of the southern part of the town, and bordering the university is occupied by Kovalchick Salvage Co. The land was recently purchased by the university and it plans to rejuvenate part of what is considered the largest eyesore in the community. Kovalchick holds large amounts of railroad salvage and aluminum.
As of December 2008, roughly fifty percent of the salvage materials held by Kovalchick Corporation have been cleared or otherwise removed from publicly viewable land.
Notable natives and residents
The most celebrated and notorious environmentalist author of the twentieth century,
Edward AbbeyEdward Paul Abbey was an American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public land policies. His best-known works include the novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, which has been cited as an inspiration by radical environmental groups, and the non-fiction...
(1927-1989), was born at the Indiana hospital and raised in Indiana and near the
Indiana CountyIndiana County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2000, its population was 89,605. Indiana County was created on March 30, 1803, from parts of Westmoreland and Clearfield Counties, and is probably named for the Indiana Territory. Its county seat is Indiana...
towns and villages of
Saltsburg, PennsylvaniaSaltsburg is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 955 at the 2000 census. The town was based on the construction of salt wells and the canals and railroad tracks that passed through it.-Geography:...
, Tanoma, and
Home, PennsylvaniaHome is an unincorporated village located in Rayne Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Although it is not tracked by the US Census Bureau, Home has been assigned the ZIP code 15747 and is a part of the telephone area code 724....
. Abbey's first novel,
Jonathan TroyJonathan Troy was Edward Abbey's first published novel, as detailed in James M. Cahalan's biography of Abbey. Only 5,000 copies were printed and almost immediately after it was released the author wanted to disown the work...
(1954), is set entirely in a thinly disguised Indiana, and his novel
The Fool's ProgressThe Fool's Progress is a book by Edward Abbey, published in 1988.It is the saga of a journey - a journey through space, a journey through the hero's personal history, and a quest to find meaning under the shadow of death. The journey starts as Henry Holyoak Lightcap blasts away at his refrigerator...
(1988), which he called his "fat masterpiece", is an autobiographical account of his growing up in this area and his imagined attempt to return home after a lifetime spent mostly in the desert Southwest. His nonfiction book
Appalachian Wilderness (1970) lovingly describes Indiana and Home. There is a
Pennsylvania state historical marker for Abbey at Home.
Indiana was the birthplace and hometown of actor
Jimmy StewartJames Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart was an American film and stage actor, best known for his self-effacing persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
, who was born there and lived at 104 North 7th Street. Despite the fact that he left the area upon graduating from high school, the town always followed his career closely, with the local newspaper periodically publishing rumors in his later years that Stewart planned to return there to live. On May 20, 1983, Stewart was given a 75th birthday celebration by the town, after which he never made another public appearance in the area. Before Stewart's death, a museum to his memory was opened on the third floor of the local public library, and a bronze statue of Stewart was erected in his honor at the county courthouse during his 75th birthday. The town annually holds a Jimmy Stewart film festival as part of the town's "It's a Wonderful Life" holiday celebration.
Renée FlemingRenée Fleming is a Grammy Award winning American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice....
, a world famous Lyric Soprano who has sung in the world's most prestigious opera houses, and who was featured on the
Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy consists of three live action fantasy epic films: The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King...
soundtrack, was also born in Indiana.
Geography
Indiana, Pennsylvania is located at (40.621084, -79.154903). The borough is an independent municipality surrounded by
White TownshipWhite Township is a township in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 14,034 at the 2000 census.-Geography:White Township entirely surrounds, but does not include, the Borough of Indiana...
. For some time in the 1990s there was discussion of merging the borough and township, but the matter was never acted upon.
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the borough has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.6 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 14,895 people, 4,804 households, and 1,666 families residing in the borough. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 8,440.0 people per square mile (3,267.6/km²). There were 5,096 housing units at an average density of 2,887.6/sq mi (1,117.9/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 91.51% White, 5.19% African American, 0.07% Native American, 1.89% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population.
There were 4,804 households out of which 14.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.5% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 65.3% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the borough the population was spread out with 8.2% under the age of 18, 59.4% from 18 to 24, 13.7% from 25 to 44, 10.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $21,279, and the median income for a family was $47,192. Males had a median income of $26,506 versus $22,471 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the borough was $12,317. About 11.2% of families and 44.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.3% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Indiana University of PennsylvaniaIndiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university located in the borough of Indiana, Indiana County ,Pennsylvania, USA, northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...
(or IUP) is a public university founded in 1875. At present, it is the largest university in the
Pennsylvania State System of Higher EducationThe Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a large public university system in the United States. It is the tenth-largest university system in the United States and 43rd largest in the world...
. It offers over 100 undergraduate majors and is the only doctoral degree-granting institution in the system.
For public K-12 education, the Indiana Area School
http://www.iasd.cc/ district support four neighborhood elementary schools (Eisenhower Elementary, Horace Mann, East Pike, Ben Franklin), a junior high school (Indiana Area Junior High School) and high school (Indiana Area Senior High School), which are accredited and recognized for quality. A Catholic affiliated Pre-K through grade 6 program is offered at the St. Bernard School
http://www.saintbernardschool.net, in addition to other various parochial schools for different denominations.
Early care and education programs for pre-k children are available. The non-profit IndiKids
http://www.indikids.org or (Indiana County Child Day Care Centers) offers NAEYC-accredited care for children of students and community members on the campus of IUP and throughout the community.
Local Media
| FM stations |
| call letters |
frequency |
format |
location |
Owner |
| WFRJ |
88.9 |
Religious |
Johnstown |
Family Stations, Inc. |
| WQEJ |
89.7 |
Classical |
Johnstown |
WQED Multimedia |
| WIUP |
90.1 |
College |
Indiana |
Indiana University of Pennsylvania |
| WQMU |
92.5 |
Hot AC |
Indiana |
St. Pier Group, LLC |
| WFGI |
95.5 |
Country |
Johnstown |
Forever Broadcasting |
| WKYE |
96.5 |
Adult Contemporary |
Johnstown |
Forever Broadcasting |
| WFGY |
98.1 |
Country |
Altoona |
Forever Broadcasting |
| WRKW |
99.1 |
Rock |
Ebensburg |
Forever Broadcasting |
| WDVE |
102.5 |
Classic Rock |
Pittsburgh |
Clear Channel |
| WFSJ |
103.7 |
Christian Contemporary |
Indiana |
Godstock Ministries, Inc. |
| WMUG |
105.1 |
Religious |
Indiana |
The Christian Witness, Inc. |
| WLCY |
106.3 |
Country |
Blairsville |
St. Pier Group, LLC |
| WDSY |
107.9 |
Country |
Pittsburgh |
CBS Radio |
| AM AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation.-History:AM was the dominant method of broadcasting during the first eighty years of the 20th century and remains widely used into the 21st....
stations |
| call letters |
frequency |
format |
location |
Owner |
| WKHB |
620 |
Oldies |
Irwin |
Broadcast Communications, Inc. |
| KDKA |
1020 |
News/Talk |
Pittsburgh |
CBS Radio |
| WCCS |
1160 |
News/Talk |
Homer City |
St. Pier Group, LLC |
| WDAD |
1450 |
Oldies |
Indiana |
Renda Broadcasting Corporation |
Indiana, Pennsylvania Is also home to the
Indiana GazetteThe Indiana Gazette is a public newspaper printed for the Indiana County and surrounding areas. It has approximately 50,000 subscribers, as well as many newsstand editions. It is delivered daily except for holidays and special occasions...
, formerly the
Indiana Evening Gazette, a seven-day-a-week publication.
External links