Editing Huntingdon, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
The original inhabitants of Huntingdon and neighboring counties were the [[Susquehannock]]. Through a combination of ongoing war with other indigenous nations, such as the [[Haudenosaunee]], disease brought by Europeans, and violence from settlers, the Susquehannock are currently thought to have been entirely wiped out or subsumed by other tribes.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In 1768, Rev. [[William Smith (Episcopal priest)|William Smith]] began selling lots on the Standing Stone Tract along the Juniata, land he had recently acquired. The tracts' two prior owners had not attempted to lay out a town, so Dr. Smith is considered the founder. Huntingdon (the name by which he eventually called his town) sits at the site of corn fields that had been cultivated at a date now unknown, next to where [[Standing Stone Creek]] flows into the Juniata River. The 100th anniversary of its incorporation was marked by the erection of a "Standing Stone Monument" on Third Street, modeled on a tall, narrow shaft known to have existed before 1750, whose purpose is unclear but may have served as a trail marker. It may be significant that natural sandstone formations (popularly called Pulpit Rocks), which "stand erect", are on a nearby ridge. A story surfaced during the early 19th century that Smith had renamed Standing Stone Settlement to honor an Englishwoman, [[Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon]]. Smith's descendants vehemently denied the story, and there exists no evidence to support it, despite a wide circulation in published sources. More likely, the Anglican cleric named it after the town of the same name in England; doing so had become a pattern for naming Pennsylvania settlements, [[Bedford, Pennsylvania|Bedford]], [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania|Carlisle]] and [[York, Pennsylvania|York]] being nearby examples of the trend. In 1796, the little village was incorporated as a borough.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Huntingdon long served as the junction of the [[Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad]] with the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]], and as an important port on the [[Main Line of Public Works]] of the [[Pennsylvania Canal]]. In past years, Huntingdon boasted of manufacturers of flour, heavy machinery, radiators, furniture, stationery, woolen goods, shirts, shoes, electronic components, finished lumber, fiberglass yarn, matting and underground storage tanks. In the 19th century, J. C. Blair, a native of [[Shade Gap, Pennsylvania|Shade Gap]] and a stationer and businessman, popularized the writing tablet and began marketing it nationwide. His factory in downtown Huntingdon was later relocated to nearby [[Alexandria, Pennsylvania|Alexandria]].{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Huntingdon's Herncane Broom Factory was founded in 1863 by Benjamin F. Herncane. The 1897 ''Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of the Juniata Valley'' reported that the factory's output was twenty-five&nbsp;dozens&nbsp;per day and furnished "all the brooms used by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company." The company employed 14 workers and 3 traveling salesman. The building stood on Fourteenth Street from number 1416 to 1422.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/commemorativebio01cham/page/44/mode/2up |title=Commemorative biographical encyclopedia of the Juniata Valley: comprising the counties of Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata and Perry, Pennsylvania. Containing sketches of prominent and representative citizens and many of the early settlers |publisher=JM Runk. Co. |year=1897 |location=Chambersburg, PA |pages=45}}</ref> On 27 February 1903, the Everett Press reported that the "Herncane Broom Factory of Huntingdon was destroyed by fire last Saturday night. Loss about $1500." Brothers Walter S. and George B. Herncane, who worked with their father at the broom factory, went on to found the Herncane Bros. general store, which stood at the corner of 6th and Washington.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historichuntingd00hunt/page/n233/mode/2up |title=Historic Huntingdon, 1767–1909: being a brief account of the history of Huntingdon from its earliest settlements to the present day, comprising many historical facts, now published for the first time, regarding its formation, divisions and government, together with its military, educational and industrial progress |publisher=Pennsylvania Historical Committee |year=1909 |pages=Herncane Bros. ad placed at end of text}}</ref>

The vicinity (but not much of the town proper) has been the subject of repeated flooding, in 1889, in 1936, and again in 1972. More recently in 2004, [[Hurricane Ivan]] resulted in major flooding close to Huntingdon, the worst since the remnants of [[Hurricane Agnes]] stalled over the region in July 1972.

The [[Huntingdon Borough Historic District]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1986.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

<gallery class="center" widths="150px">
St Johns Episcopal Huntingdon PA.jpg|St. Johns Episcopal Church
Huntingdon Co PA Shieriff's Office.jpg|Huntingdon County Sheriff's Office
4th and Washington Huntingdon PA.jpg|Mutual Benefit Building at 4th and Washington streets
Huntingdon Post Office PA.jpg|Post office
</gallery>

From June 8 to 11, 2017, Huntingdon celebrated its 250th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/HDonPA250/|title=Huntingdon 250th Anniversary Celebration|website=www.Facebook.com|access-date=October 12, 2017}}</ref>