Orviston, Pennsylvania
Orviston, Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|
 Houses on Back Street | |
 Map showing Centre County in Pennsylvania | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Centre |
| Township | Curtin |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.11 sq mi (0.28 km2) |
| • Land | 0.11 sq mi (0.28 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 849 ft (259 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 95 |
| • Density | 887/sq mi (342.4/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 16864 |
| FIPS code | 42-57160 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1183056 |
Orviston is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Curtin Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 95.[1] It is located in far northern Centre County, near the Clinton County border. Beech Creek runs through the center of the town, flowing southeast towards Bald Eagle Creek in the West Branch Susquehanna River watershed.
Orviston is known as the last town accessible by the Monument/Orviston road - a 10.8-mile paved county road stemming from Beech Creek, Pennsylvania, and ending at the entrance to Orviston. Traffic can flow through Orviston, however, on the Orviston-Kato road or North Orviston Mountain road - both unpaved mountain roads. Formed prior to the mining boom, Orviston was so named in 1904 as replacement for its original name, Hayes Run, Pennsylvania, in honor of Judge Ellis Orvis, owner of the Orviston Fire Brick Company and President Judge of the 49th Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Judge Orvis owned a number of brick plants including the Centre Brick and Clay Company as well as the Snow Shoe Fire Brick Company, among others. The now defunct Beech Creek Railroad - charted August 12, 1882 under the name Susquehanna and Southwestern Railroad; currently the New York Central Railroad – ran through Orviston and its sister town, Monument, Pennsylvania, until the early 1900s.
Flooding
Orviston experienced damage to homes and properties during the March of 1936 ice flood as a result of two heavy storms hitting the northern United States. Excessive rainfall, coupled with melting snow, raised water levels in the Susquehanna river by about 4 feet - a record breaking event at that time. There were no reported casualties in Orviston. In June 1972 the Susquehanna river flooded again as a result of Hurricane Agnes dropping up to 30 inches of rainfall on Orviston and surrounding towns at a rate of 7 inches per hour during its peak.
-
Old railroad bridge -
The largest building in town -
1915 Mountain View Railroad pass signed by J.L. Harvey and belonging to J.W. Woomer -
Baseball diamond -
Beech Creek
References
- ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Orviston CDP, Pennsylvania". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
