Cochranton 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 ...

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. The population was 1,124 at the 2020 census, down from 1,136 as of the 2010 census.

Geography

Cochranton is located on the southern boundary of Crawford County at (41.519497, -80.048906). It is bordered by East Fairfield Township to the north, Wayne Township to the east, and Fairfield Township to the southwest. 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 southeastward-flowing 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 ...

, forms the southwestern border of the borough. Little Sugar Creek enters the borough from the east, passes north of the center of town, and joins French Creek just north of the Adams Street bridge.

U.S. Route 322 U.S. Route 322 (US 322) is a , east–west United States Highway, traversing Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The road is a spur route, spur of U.S. Route 22, US 22 and one of the original highways from 1926. A portion of it at one time was c ...

passes through the northern part of the borough, bypassing the downtown. US 322 leads northwest to Meadville, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and southeast to

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

on the Allegheny River. Pennsylvania Route 173 passes through the borough center as Adams Street, leading northeast to Mount Hope and south to New Lebanon.

Pennsylvania Route 285 Pennsylvania Route 285 (PA 285) is an , east–west state highway located in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, Crawford County in Pennsylvania, United States. The western terminus is the Ohio state line on Lake Pymatuning, where the road becom ...

departs PA 173 just west of the borough limits, leading west to

Interstate 79 Interstate 79 (I-79) is an Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States, designated from I-77 in Charleston, West Virginia, north to Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) and PA 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is a primary thoroughfare t ...

near Custards.

Creation of Borough

Cochranton was created by order of the Crawford County Court of Quarter Sessions on April 5, 1855. Early settler Charles Cochran, along with other residents of the community, had petitioned the county court for borough status.The Cochranton Times 125th Anniversary, page 1, ''The Cochranton Scroll'', June 1980 The borough consists of the original land grants of John Adams and Thomas Cochran (who may have been distantly related to petitioner Charles Cochran). The borough plot was surveyed by Joseph Cochran, the first school teacher, and the son of Thomas Cochran.Community Focus - Cochranton, ''The Meadville Tribune'', February 14, 2022, page B1 The first election was held on April 14, 1855. James Greer was elected Burgess, and the first borough council consisted of Charles Cochran, D. M. DeVore, Samuel Markle, William T. Dunn, and Hugh Smith.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,148 people, 478 households, and 335 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 506 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 98.78%

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 ...

, 0.44%

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 ...

, 0.09% Native American, 0.26% Asian, and 0.44% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.09% of the population. There were 478 households, of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% 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, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% comprised someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.84. The age distribution of the borough was: 23.3% under the age of 18; 7.4% from 18 to 24; 26.4% from 25 to 44; 26.2% from 45 to 64; and 16.7% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $36,625, and the median income for a family was $45,463. Males had a median income of $33,333 versus $21,792 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 $18,960. About 6.7% of families and 11.3% 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 23.2% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Borough of Cochranton official website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1800 Boroughs in Crawford County, Pennsylvania 1800 establishments in Pennsylvania