Chicora is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

in Butler County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States. The population was 1,043 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Chicora is located at (40.949468, -79.742631), along the upper reaches of Buffalo Creek.

Pennsylvania Route 68 Pennsylvania Route 68 (PA 68) is a east–west state highway located in western Pennsylvania in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at the Ohio state line west of Glasgow, where PA 68 continues into Ohio as State Route ...

passes through the borough, leading east to East Brady on the Allegheny River and southwest to Butler, the county seat. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, Chicora has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 1,021 people, 419 households, and 287 families living in the borough. The population density was 1,841.9 people per square mile (716.7/km²). There were 463 housing units at an average density of 835.3 per square mile (325.0/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the borough was 99.51% White, 0.20% African American and 0.29% Native American. There were 419 households, 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 29.4% of households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.02. The age distribution was 26.5% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males. The median household income was $33,000 and the median family income was $39,375. Males had a median income of $32,143 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $17,815. About 3.5% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Karns City Area School District Karn City Area School District is a public school district in Butler County, Clarion County, and Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. The district serves the boroughs of Chicora, Fairview, Karns City, Petrolia, and Bruin and the townships of Pa ...

– public school *

Karns City High School Karns City High School is located in Karns City, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Karns City Area School District. The school serves students residing in Butler County, Clarion County, and Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. The boroughs of Chicor ...

Chicora Meteor

On June 24, 1938, a meteorite fell in the vicinity of Chicora. Named the "Chicora Meteor", the meteorite exploded approximately above the Earth's surface. Only two fragments of the meteorite were found following initial investigations. They had masses of and , and were discovered some miles (some kilometers) short of the calculated point of impact of the main mass – which is yet to be found. Two more small fragments were found nearby in 1940. Numerous reports of the Chicora Meteor mention that a cow was struck and injured by a falling stone; other accounts say that the cow was killed by the stone. The meteor was an

olivine The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle, it is a common mineral in Earth's subsurface, but weathers quickl ...

hypersthene Hypersthene is a common rock-forming inosilicate mineral belonging to the group of orthorhombic pyroxenes. Its chemical formula is . It is found in igneous and some metamorphic rocks as well as in stony and iron meteorites. Many references have f ...

chondrite A chondrite is a stony (non- metallic) meteorite that has not been modified, by either melting or differentiation of the parent body. They are formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar System accreted to form p ...

. Its remains were split between the

Carnegie Museum of Natural History The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896. Housing some 22 million ...

and the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. The sound and light of the exploding meteor were initially mistaken for an explosion in the powder magazine at West Winfield, and was described by investigators F.W. Preston, E.P. Henderson and James R. Randolph as comparable in destructive power to the

Halifax Explosion On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship collided with the Norwegian vessel in the waters of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The ''Mont-Blanc'', laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond ...

of 1917. "If it had landed on

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

there would have been few survivors," they stated.Lane, F.W. ''The Elements Rage'' (David & Charles 1966), p.158

References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1830 Boroughs in Butler County, Pennsylvania 1830 establishments in Pennsylvania