Chicora 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 ...

Butler County, Pennsylvania Butler County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 193,763. Its county seat is Butler. Butler County was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named in honor of Gen ...

, 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 passes through the borough, leading east to East Brady on 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 ...

and southwest to

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

, the county seat. 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 ...

, 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 . There were 463 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup 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. Men had a median income of $32,143 versus $21,875 for women. 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 $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 ...

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

Education

* Karns City Area School District – public school * Karns City High School

Chicora meteor

On June 24, 1938, a

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

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 minerals, silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of Nesosilicates, nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle (Earth), upper mantle, it is a com ...

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 planetary differentiation, differentiation of the parent body. They are formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar Syste ...

. 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 (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by List of people from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, Pit ...

and the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. 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 harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. ''Mont-Blanc'', laden with Explosive material, high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastat ...

of 1917. "If it had landed on

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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