Johnsonburg is a borough in
Elk 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 ...
, northeast of
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 ...
and south of
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, in a productive farming and lumbering region. Paper mills were once common in the borough, with the
Domtar mill still operating. In 1910, 4,334 people lived here. The population was 2,404 at the
2020 census.
History
It was founded in 1810 and incorporated in 1891.
The
Johnsonburg Commercial Historic District was listed on 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 ...
in 1999.
Geography
Johnsonburg is located at (41.493950, -78.679600).
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 , of it land and (1.38%) of it water. It is also home to the Johnsonburg Area School.
Demographics
2010
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 2010, there were 2,483 people, 1,126 households, and 663 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 1,293 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 98.1%
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 ...
, 0.1%
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 ...
, 0.2%
Native American, 0.3%
Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.3% from
other races, and 0.95% 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 1.5% of the population.
There were 1,126 households, out of which 28% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were
married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 59.2% from 18 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years.
The median income for a household in the borough was $30,856, and the median income for a family was $43,250. Males had a median income of $42,917 versus $24,207 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 $16,438. About 9.8% of families and 16.9% 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 29.2% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.
2000
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 3,003 people, 1,292 households, and 811 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 1,435 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 98.83%
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 ...
, 0.03%
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 ...
, 0.30%
Native American, 0.37%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.10% from
other races, and 0.33% 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 1.30% of the population.
There were 1,292 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were
married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $27,924, and the median income for a family was $39,491. Males had a median income of $33,354 versus $21,683 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 $15,631. About 15.4% of families and 17.6% 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 29.4% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.
Paper mill
The major industry in Johnsonburg is paper, with the largest mill owned by the
Domtar Corporation. It was built more than a century ago, originally owned principally by the Armstrong family of Philadelphia (1888). By 1890 the Armstrong's had merged with the paper mills owned by Augustus Paine of New York to become the New York & Pennsylvania Company. The
Curtis Publishing Company, publisher of the ''Saturday Evening Post'' purchased the mill in 1925. By 1950, it was believed to be the largest
coated paper mill in the world.
By the end of 1960s, Curtis Publishing filed for bankruptcy and closed the mill. Six months later, investors, including industrialist George S. Petty, formed a group called Penntech Papers, to purchase the mill assets, and continued it in operation for the next 20 years. In 1990, Penntech sold the mill to
Willamette Industries, which was acquired by
Weyerhaeuser in February 2002 in a hostile
takeover and then in 2007 was acquired by
Domtar.
Paper Excellence acquired
Domtar in 2021 for $3 billion cash.
Historical notes
* Is the oldest settlement in
Elk County, first settled in 1810.
* The U.S. Post Office attempted to rename Johnsonburg as "Quay" to honor Matthew Quay, U.S. Senator. That effort failed in 1890.
* Like many towns in the 1920s and 1930s with organized crime, the borough carried the name of "Little Chicago."
* It was once considered a booming town along the
Clarion River where
United States President Ulysses S. Grant visited during and after his presidency to fish with other retired
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
generals that had lived there. Neighboring municipalities such as
Kane and Wilcox were named after generals.
* During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the borough had, per capita, the highest number of soldiers entering into military service in Elk County. This fact was officially recognized years later.
* Paper from the mill originally was used for the ''
Saturday Evening Post'' during the days that artist
Norman Rockwell would do its covers. In later years, it would produce the paper used for the books in the
Harry Potter series.
* The
Johnsonburg Commercial Historic District was listed on 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 ...
in 1999.
* As of 2010, Johnsonburg had the third-least expensive median house price in the United States at $38,588.
* The first settler of Johnsonburg was David Johnson, who settled at the confluence of the West Branch River and the East Branch River that combine to make the Clarion River. The paper mill now lies where Johnson settled.
Schools
* Johnsonburg Elementary School
* Johnsonburg Area High School
Media
* Johnsonburg Press (weekly)
Notable people
* Domenico Monardo-
Meco—Record producer and musician responsible for disco Star Wars theme.
References
{{authority control
Populated places established in 1810
Boroughs in Elk County, Pennsylvania
1891 establishments in Pennsylvania