Editing Cresson, Pennsylvania

{{short description|Borough in Pennsylvania, US}}
{{distinguish|Cressona, Pennsylvania}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Cresson, Pennsylvania
|other_name = 
|native_name = 
|nickname = 
|settlement_type = Borough
|motto = 
<!-- images and maps ----------->
|image_skyline = Second from Ashcroft, Cresson.jpg
|imagesize = 250px
|image_caption = Houses on [[Pennsylvania Route 53|Second Street]]
|image_flag = 
|flag_size = 
|image_seal = 
|seal_size = 
|image_shield = 
|shield_size = 
|image_blank_emblem = 
|blank_emblem_size = 
|pushpin_map = Pennsylvania
|pushpin_label = Cresson
|pushpin_label_position = top<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_map_caption = 
|pushpin_mapsize = 
<!-- 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 = [[Cambria County, Pennsylvania|Cambria]]
|government_footnotes = 
|government_type = Borough council
|leader_title = Mayor
|leader_name = 
|leader_title1 = 
|leader_name1 = 
|leader_title2 = 
|leader_name2 = 
|leader_title3 = 
|leader_name3 = 
|leader_title4 = 
|leader_name4 = 
|established_title = Settled
|established_date = 
|established_title1 = Incorporated
|established_date1 = 1902
|area_magnitude = 
|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_total_km2 = 1.25
|area_land_km2 = 1.25
|area_water_km2 = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi = 0.48
|area_land_sq_mi = 0.48
|area_water_sq_mi = 0.00
|area_water_percent = 
|population_as_of = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes = <ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly"/>
|population_note = 
|population_total = 1525
|population_density_km2 = 1221.56
|population_density_sq_mi = 3163.90
|timezone = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset = -5
|timezone_DST = EDT
|utc_offset_DST = -4
|coordinates   = {{coord|40|27|45|N|78|35|11|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_m = 
|elevation_ft = 2054
|postal_code_type = [[Zip code]]
|postal_code = 16630
|area_code = [[Area code 814|814]]
|website = 
|footnotes = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
|blank_info = 42-17136
|blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info = 1215014<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|1215014}}</ref>
|image_map = File:Cambria County Pennsylvania Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Cresson Highlighted.svg
|map_caption = Location of Cresson in Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
}}
'''Cresson''' is a [[borough (Pennsylvania)|borough]] in [[Cambria County, Pennsylvania]], United States. Cresson is {{convert|80|mi}} east of [[Pittsburgh]]. It is above {{convert|2000|ft|-2}} in elevation. Lumber, coal, and [[coke (fuel)|coke yards]] were industries that had supported the population, which numbered 1,470 in 1910. The borough is part of the [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania|Johnstown]] [[Metropolitan Statistical Area]], although state and local sources list it as part of the [[Altoona, Pennsylvania|Altoona]] area due to being much closer to that city. The population of Cresson at the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]] was 1,711.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4217136| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Cresson borough, Pennsylvania| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=March 11, 2015| archive-url=https://archive.today/20150311133239/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4217136| archive-date=March 11, 2015| url-status=dead}}</ref>

The location was named in 1854 as a memorial to philanthropist [[Elliott Cresson]]. Railroads, beginning with the [[Allegheny Portage Railroad]], fueled the growth of the area. Many famous Pittsburgh businessmen, including [[Charles M. Schwab]], [[Andrew Carnegie]], and [[Henry Clay Frick]], maintained summer residences in the area.

The borough was incorporated in 1906, along with neighboring [[Sankertown, Pennsylvania|Sankertown]].

==Geography==
Cresson is located in eastern Cambria County at {{coord|40|27|45|N|78|35|11|W|type:city}} (40.462631, -78.586319),<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> atop the [[Eastern Continental Divide]], the height of land between the [[East Coast of the United States|Eastern Seaboard]] of the United States and the [[Ohio River]] valley. The [[Little Conemaugh River]] rises in Cresson, flowing southwest to form the [[Conemaugh River]], which in turn flows to the [[Kiskiminetas River]], then the [[Allegheny River]], the [[Ohio River]], and finally the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]]. The north side of Cresson, meanwhile, drains north to [[Clearfield Creek]], a tributary of the [[West Branch Susquehanna River|West Branch]] of the [[Susquehanna River]], leading to [[Chesapeake Bay]]. Blair Gap, at the eastern edge of the [[Allegheny Plateau]] and {{convert|2|mi|0}} east of town, is the location of the [[Allegheny Portage Railroad]] National Historic Site, where the first railroad (a [[portage railway]]) crossed the [[Allegheny Mountains]].

Cresson is bypassed to the south and east by [[U.S. Route 22 in Pennsylvania|U.S. Route 22]], a four-lane expressway, with access from two exits: [[Pennsylvania Route 53]] (Second Street) on the south, and the Admiral Peary Highway (former US 22) on the east. [[Altoona, Pennsylvania|Altoona]] is {{convert|15|mi}} to the northeast via US 22 and [[Interstate 99]], while [[Ebensburg, Pennsylvania|Ebensburg]], the Cambria County seat, is {{convert|8|mi|0}} to the west.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the borough has a total area of {{convert|1.25|km2|disp=flip}}, all  land.<ref name="Census 2010"/>

==History==
=== Mountainhouse era ===
[[File:US-PA(1891) p721 CRESSON SPRINGS.jpg|thumb|(1891) CRESSON SPRINGS]]
One of the first buildings in the area which would become Cresson was the Mountainhouse Hotel. The [[Queen Anne style architecture in the United States|Queen Anne style]] structure was opened by the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] in 1881, sold to the Cresson Springs Co., and demolished in 1916. It was hoped to attract visitors from Pittsburgh and [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania|Johnstown]] looking for clean air and "therapeutic" mineral springs. Although itself unsuccessful, it led to the development of several other hotels, companies, and the town itself.

The area is currently known as the "Mountainhouse Grounds" to local residents and is in the midst of development. Several of the original cottages still stand, including those of [[Andrew Carnegie]] and [[Benjamin Franklin Jones (industrialist)|Benjamin Jones]].<ref>Anne Francis Pulling. ''Around Cresson and the Alleghenies''. {{ISBN|9780738590400}}</ref>

=== Stereographs of R.A. Bonine ===
Photographer R.A. Bonine of [[Altoona, Pennsylvania|Altoona]] took several [[Stereoscopy|stereographs]] of the Cresson area, including the Mountainhouse during the 1870-1880s. The following were included in his series "Views Among the Alleghenies".
<gallery mode=packed>
File:Cresson, a summer resort on the P. R. R. among the wilds of the Alleghenies, by R. A. Bonine 4.jpg|Mountainhouse Hotel
File:Winter at Cresson, summer resort, on the P. R. R. among the wilds of the Alleghenies, by R. A. Bonine 10.jpg|Cresson Springs Co. Building 
File:Cresson, a summer resort on the P. R. R. among the wilds of the Alleghenies, by R. A. Bonine 8.jpg|Hotel from Railroad Station
File:P. R. R. Depot at Cresson, looking east, by R. A. Bonine 2.jpg|Railroad Depot (looking east)
File:Cresson, a summer resort on the P. R. R. among the wilds of the Alleghenies, by R. A. Bonine 10.jpg|Muller Cottage
</gallery>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1910= 1470
|1920= 2170
|1930= 2317
|1940= 2500
|1950= 2569
|1960= 2659
|1970= 2446
|1980= 2184
|1990= 1784
|2000= 1631
|2010= 1711
|2020= 1525
|footnote=Sources:<ref name="USDecennialCensus">{{cite web|title=Census of Population and Housing|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=11 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref><ref name=CensusPopEst>{{cite web|title=Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|work=Population Estimates|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=11 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611010502/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|archive-date=11 June 2013}}</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>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,631 people, 726 households, and 426 families residing in the borough. The population density was {{convert|3,297.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 786 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1,589.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the borough was 98.90% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.12% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.37% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.25% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.37% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.74% of the population.

There were 726 households, out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the borough, the population was spread out, with 21.0% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $26,293, and the median income for a family was $34,900. Males had a median income of $30,972 versus $21,853 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the borough was $15,562. About 13.7% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
*[[Mount Aloysius College]], a four-year Roman Catholic institution, is located in Cresson.
*[[Penn Cambria School District]], a K-12 public school district, has administrative offices in Cresson; the district covers neighboring areas as well as Cresson. Penn Cambria Pre-Primary and Penn Cambria High School are located in Cresson.

==Notable people==
*[[Robert Edwin Peary]], Sr - American Explorer

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.cressonarea.com/ Cresson Area Chamber of Commerce]

{{Cambria County, Pennsylvania}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places established in 1902]]
[[Category:Boroughs in Cambria County, Pennsylvania]]