Editing Aaronsburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania

{{short description|Census-designated place in Pennsylvania, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Aaronsburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania
|official_name            = 
|settlement_type          = [[Census-designated place]]
<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Aaronsburg PA log house.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Log house
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

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|pushpin_map_caption      = 
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|image_map              = Map of Aaronsburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania Highlighted.png
|mapsize                = 
|map_caption            = Location of Aaronsburg in Centre County
|image_map1             = Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Centre County.svg
|mapsize1               = 
|map_caption1           = Location of Centre County in Pennsylvania

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Pennsylvania]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Pennsylvania|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Centre County, Pennsylvania|Centre]]
|subdivision_type3        = [[Township (Pennsylvania)|Township]]
|subdivision_name3        = [[Haines Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania|Haines]]
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/5/query?where=STATE='42'&outFields=NAME,STATE,PLACE,AREALAND,AREAWATER,LSADC,CENTLAT,CENTLON&orderByFields=PLACE&returnGeometry=false&returnTrueCurves=false&f=json|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 12, 2022}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 2.29
|area_land_km2            = 2.29
|area_water_km2           = 0.00

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = <ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly"/>
|population_total         = 593
|population_density_km2   = 258.59

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_ft             = 1180
|coordinates              = {{coord|40|53|59|N|77|27|11|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 16820
|area_code                = 
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 42-00100
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1168362
|website                  = 
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
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|area_total_sq_mi = 0.89
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}}
'''Aaronsburg''' is a [[census-designated place]] (CDP) in [[Centre County, Pennsylvania|Centre County]], [[Pennsylvania]], United States. It is part of the [[State College, Pennsylvania]] [[Metropolitan Statistical Area]]. The population was 613 at the [[United States Census 2010|2010 census]].<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4200100| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Aaronsburg CDP (Centre County), Pennsylvania| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| accessdate=April 13, 2015| archive-url=https://archive.today/20150413203028/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4200100| archive-date=April 13, 2015| url-status=dead}}</ref>

==History==
Aaronsburg was founded in 1786 by Aaron Levy, of which the town is named for him.<ref>{{cite book| title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States| publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office| year=1905| pages=[https://archive.org/details/origincertainpl00ganngoog/page/n28 22]| author=Gannett, Henry| url=https://archive.org/details/origincertainpl00ganngoog}}</ref> It is the first town in Pennsylvania (and possibly in the United States) laid out by and named after a [[Jew]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/108-aaronsburg|title=AARONSBURG - JewishEncyclopedia.com|last=Rosenbach|first=Isabella H|last2=Rosenbach|first2=Abraham S. Wolf|date=1894|website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com|access-date=2019-05-27}}</ref> He laid out the town of right in the geographic center of the state, with hopes of it becoming a major settlement.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Rosenbach: A Biography|last=Wolf|first=Edwin|last2=Fleming|first2=John F.|publisher=The World Publishing Company|year=1960|location=Cleveland, Ohio|pages=14–15|lccn=60-15992}}</ref> Its orderly planned and aligned streets were designed that the town might one day be the [[county seat]]. This, however, never occurred due to the lack of water. The current county seat is [[Bellefonte, Pennsylvania|Bellefonte]].

Levy was a prominent Jewish merchant who immigrated to Pennsylvania from [[Amsterdam]] sometime between 1760 and 1770 to trade with the native peoples and furnished supplies to the proprietary government. After [[Treaty of Fort Stanwix]] was signed in 1768, he went west in the land rush and settled at the west branches of the [[Susquehanna River]]. There he opened a store to buy and sell to local farmers and native peoples.<ref name=":1" />

During the [[American Revolutionary War]], he moved back to [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]].<ref name=":1" /> As a creditor, Levy was a major financier of the [[Continental Congress]] during the conflict, with his loans never fully being repaid.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LEVY, AARON - JewishEncyclopedia.com |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9869-levy-aaron |access-date=2019-05-12 |website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref>

In June 1779, Levy bought a tract of 334 acres in Center County known as the Alexander Grant warranty. Upon this he laid out and planned what would become Aaronsburg. A plot of ground named Aaron's Square was reserved by the founder for public uses, and one of the streets was named Rachel's Way in honor of his wife. On November 16, 1789, Levy gave to the trustees of the Salem Evangelical Church a lot upon which to erect a church and schoolhouse.<ref name=":0" />

In 1949 a pageant was held to celebrate Aaronsburg's unique history and namesake. Aaron Levy, a Jewish merchant from [[Philadelphia]], presented members of Salem Lutheran Church with a [[pewter]] [[Eucharist|communion set]] as a gift. This unusual gesture inspired many, and 50,000 people descended upon Aaronsburg to commemorate it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-29|title=The Aaronsburg Story Historical Marker|website=explorepahistory.com|access-date=2019-05-27}}</ref> Attendees included [[Ralph Bunche]], [[Cornel Wilde]], and, later, [[Ronald Reagan]]. A short film and a book "The Aaronsburg Story" by Arthur H. Lewis were written about this event, published in 1955.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Aaronsburg story.|url=https://archive.org/details/aaronsburgstory00lewi|url-access=registration|last=Lewis|first=Arthur H|date=1955|publisher=Vanguard Press|location=New York|language=English|oclc=1487055}}</ref>

The [[Aaronsburg Historic District]] was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1980.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

==Geography==
Aaronsburg is located in eastern Centre County, in the northwest corner of [[Haines Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania|Haines Township]]. It is bordered on the west by the borough of [[Millheim, Pennsylvania|Millheim]]. It sits in the [[Penns Valley]] at the southern base of Shriner Mountain. [[Pennsylvania Route 45]] passes through the town, leading west into Millheim and then on to [[State College, Pennsylvania|State College]], and east to [[Lewisburg, Pennsylvania|Lewisburg]] on the [[Susquehanna River]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the Aaronsburg CDP has a total area of {{convert|0.888|sqmi|km2}}, all  land.<ref name = 2010Gazetter>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/2010_place_list_42.txt|title=Places - Pennsylvania|work=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|publisher =[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2014-06-16}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|2000= 485
|2010= 613
|2020= 593
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2016}}</ref><ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly">{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:42&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=Oct 12, 2022}}</ref>
}}

===2010===
<!-- I haven't been able to find all the 2010 stats in one place, so I'm commenting out the stuff I need to figure out -->
As of the [[2010 US census]], there were 613 people, 240 households, and 175 families living in the CDP. <!--at an average density of {{convert|401.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.--> The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census#2010 census|racial makeup]] of the CDP was 99.3% White, 0.2% Native American, with 0.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population.<ref name=2010AmFactFinder>{{cite web|title=Aaronsburg CDP (Centre County), Pennsylvania |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/1600000US4200100|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212155153/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/1600000US4200100|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 February 2020|website=American FactFinder|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=17 June 2014}}</ref> The population density in 2000 was 931.1 people per square mile (360.1/km<sup>2</sup>).<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>

There were 257 housing units, and 240 households, 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.1% were non-families. 29.6% of households were one person under 18, and 30.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.02.<ref name=2010AmFactFinder/>

The age distribution was 24.1% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 20 to 24, 25 from 25 to 44, 27% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% 65 or older. The median age was 40.9 years. For every 100 females there were 105 males.<ref name=2010AmFactFinder/>

===2000 census===
At the [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]] there were 485 people, 201 households, and 146 families living in the CDP. The population density was {{convert|931.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 209 housing units at an average density of {{convert|401.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census#2000 census|racial makeup]] of the CDP was 99.59% White, 0.21% Native American, and 0.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82%.<ref name="GR2" />

There were 201 households, 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 22.9% of households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.82.

The age distribution was 22.5% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.

The median household income was $40,833 and the median family income  was $41,667. Males had a median income of $30,938 versus $28,036 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $21,011. About 3.2% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including none of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

==Notable people==
*[[Daniel Otto]], [[fraktur (folk art)|fraktur]] artist<ref name="Wertkin2004">{{cite book|author=Gerard C. Wertkin|title=Encyclopedia of American Folk Art|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780415929868|url-access=registration|date=2 August 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-95614-1}}</ref>
*[[John H. Stover]], (1833–1889), born in Aaronsburg, [[United States Congressman]] from [[Missouri]].<ref name="Marquis 1607-1896">{{cite book | title = Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896 | publisher = Marquis Who's Who | location = Chicago | year = 1963}}</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

==Further reading==
*Aaron Levy, by Isabella H. Rosenbach and Abraham S. Wolf Rosenbach, in Publ. Am. Jew. Hist. Soc. No. 2, 1894, pp.&nbsp;157–163.

{{Centre County, Pennsylvania}}

[[Category:Census-designated places in Centre County, Pennsylvania]]