Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania

See also: Johnsonburg, New Jersey

Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania
—  Borough  —
Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 41°29′38″N 78°40′47″W
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Elk
Settled	1810
Incorporated (borough)	1891
Area
• Total	3.0 sq mi (7.8 km2)
Elevation	1,444 ft (440 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	3,003
• Density	898.6/sq mi (382.7/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC)
Zip code	15845
Area code(s)	814

Johnsonburg is a borough in Elk County, Pennsylvania, 124 miles (200 km) northeast of Pittsburgh and 115 miles (185 km) south of Buffalo, New York, in a productive farming and lumbering region. Paper mills were once common here, and Domtar still maintains a paper mill there today. In 1910, 4,334 people lived here. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census.

History

It was founded in 1810 and incorporated in 1891.

The Johnsonburg Commercial Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Geography

Johnsonburg is located at 41°29′38″N 78°40′47″W (41.493950, -78.679600).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,003 people, 1,292 households, and 811 families residing in the borough. The population density was 989.6 people per square mile (382.7/km²). There were 1,435 housing units at an average density of 472.9 per square mile (182.9/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.83% White, 0.03% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.10% from other races, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.30% of the population.

There were 1,292 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the borough the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $27,924, and the median income for a family was $39,491. Males had a median income of $33,354 versus $21,683 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $15,631. About 15.4% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.4% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Paper mill

The major industry in Johnsonburg is paper, with the largest mill owned by the Domtar Corporation.

It was built more than a century ago, originally owned by Curtis Publishing Company, publisher of the Saturday Evening Post. By 1950, it was believed to be the largest coated paper mill in the world.

By the 1960s, Curtis Publishing was questioning its ownership of the mill due to financial concerns, and by 1969, had closed down the Johnsonburg mill. Six months later, a group of investors including artist George Petty formed a group called Penntech Papers, purchased the mill assets, and continued it in operation for the next 20 years.

In 1990, Penntech sold the mill to Willamette Industries, the company that would later be acquired by Weyerhaeuser in February 2002 in a hostile takeover and then in 2007 was acquired by Domtar.

Historical notes

• Is the oldest settlement in Elk County, first settled in 1810.
• Was originally called Quay.
• Like many towns in the 1920s and 1930s with organized crime, the borough carried the name of "Little Chicago."
• It was once considered a booming town along the Clarion River where former United States President Ulysses S. Grant used to visit during and after his presidency to fish with other retired Civil War generals that had lived there. Neighboring municipalities such as Kane and Wilcox were named after generals.
• During World War II, the borough had, per capita, the highest number of soldiers entering into military service. This fact was officially recognized years later.^{[citation needed]}
• Paper from the mill originally was used for the Saturday Evening Post during the days that artist Norman Rockwell would do its covers. In later years, it would produce the paper used for the books in the Harry Potter series.
• The Johnsonburg Commercial Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
• As of 2010, Johnsonburg had the third-least expensive median house price in the United States at $38,588.

Schools

• Johnsonburg Elementary School
• Johnsonburg Area High School

Media

• Johnsonburg Press (weekly)
• Images of America: Johnsonburg by Arcadia Publishing

Famous natives

• Meco -- Record producer and musician
• Michael Hinman -- Founder of Airlock Alpha and creator of the SyFy brand