Cambridge Springs is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

with home rule status in

Crawford County, Pennsylvania Crawford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,938. Its county seat is Meadville. The county was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named for Colonel W ...

, United States. The population was 2,583 at the 2020 census, down from 2,595 at the 2010 census.

History

The village of Cambridge was settled in 1822 and named for the town of

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

. It was incorporated into the

of Cambridgeboro on April 3, 1866.Bates, p. 493. In the late 19th century, Cambridgeboro was known for its

mineral spring Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage un ...

s. The discovery of the springs eventually led to the borough being renamed to Cambridge Springs on April 1, 1897. It was a

resort town A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...

featuring a variety of hotels including the Rider Hotel, which burned down in 1931. The last of these hotels, the Riverside Inn, burned down on May 2, 2017, and had been listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since 1978. Also listed on the National Register of Historic Places are the Cambridge Springs Bridge and Amos Kelly House. In 1904, the Rider Hotel in Cambridge Springs was the site of a famous

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

won by Frank Marshall ahead of

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Emanuel Lasker Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher. He was the second World Chess Champion, holding the title for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially ...

and fourteen other players. A variation of the

Queen's Gambit Declined The Queen's Gambit Declined (or QGD) is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 e6 This is known as the ''Orthodox Line'' of the Queen's Gambit Declined. When the "Queen's Gambi ...

opening Opening may refer to: Types of openings * Hole * A title sequence or opening credits * Grand opening of a business or other institution * Inauguration * Keynote * Opening sentence * Opening sequence * Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...

played several times there is today known as the

Cambridge Springs Defense In chess, the Cambridge Springs Defense (or less commonly, the Pillsbury Variation) is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined that begins with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nc3 Nf6 :4. Bg5 Nbd7 :5. Nf3 c6 :6. e3 Qa5 Black br ...

(1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.e3 c6 6.Nf3 Qa5 in algebraic notation). From 1912 to 1987, it was home to

Alliance College Alliance College was an independent, liberal arts college located in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, offering a special program in Polish and Slavic languages (i.e., Slavistics). It was originally an academy at the high school level. In the 192 ...

. In 1912, United States President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

traveled to Cambridge Springs for the dedication. The site of the college is now occupied by the State Correctional Institution – Cambridge Springs, a minimum-security prison. In the early 20th century, the town became a "veritable 'Mecca' to chronic hoboes" who were interested in meeting Leon Ray Livingston, the famed

hobo A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works. Et ...

and author who had established Cambridge Springs as his home base while not traveling. The borough adopted a home rule charter on May 21, 1974, that took effect on January 5, 1976.

Pennsylvania Code The ''Pennsylvania Code'' is a publication of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, listing all rules, regulations, and other administrative documents from the Government of Pennsylvania. Citation Title 1 section 1.2 of the ''Pennsylvania Code'' su ...

br>Title 320, Sec. 41.1-101 ''et seq.''
While the community's official name remains the "Borough of Cambridge Springs", it is no longer subject to the Pennsylvania Borough Code.

Geography

Cambridge Springs is located in north-central Crawford County at (41.802324, -80.059174). It is surrounded by Cambridge Township, a separate municipality. U.S. routes 19 and 6 pass together through Cambridge Springs, leading north to their split near

Mill Village A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * '' Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World He ...

and south to Meadville, the Crawford County seat.

Erie Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

is north of Cambridge Springs via US 19. Pennsylvania Route 99 leads northwest from Cambridge Springs to Edinboro, PA 86 leads south to

Woodcock The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of sandpipers in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English name ...

, and PA 408 leads southeast to Titusville. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the borough has a total area of , all land. French Creek, a tributary of the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...

, flows through the northern part of Cambridge Springs.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 2,595 people, 675 households, and 484 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 741 dwelling units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 84.9 percent

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 12.8 percent

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3 percent Native American, 0.3 percent Asian, 0.9 percent from other races, and 0.7 percent from

two or more races Multiracial Americans, also known as mixed-race Americans, are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed-race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially (cf. t ...

. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 3.5 percent of the population. There were 675 households, out of which 21.7 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7 percent were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 19.0 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.4 percent were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.04. The age distribution was 19.0% under 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 40.9% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 54.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 46.4 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $31,957, and the median income for a family was $39,196. Males had a median income of $31,146 versus $22,350 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $12,863. About 8.7% of families and 12.2% 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 ...

, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

Sources

External links

Cambridge Springs Boro
(Crawford County Government) {{Authority control Populated places established in 1822 Home Rule Municipalities in Pennsylvania Spa towns in the United States 1822 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Crawford County, Pennsylvania