New Baltimore 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 ...

in Somerset 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 137 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Metropolitan statistical area ...

, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The first settler was Michael Riddlemoser, who built a house here in 1820, and laid out the street plan in 1829. The community was initially known as Mosersburg, and was later renamed New Baltimore, after Riddlemoser's hometown. The borough was incorporated in 1874. In the 1880s, a major railroad yard and maintenance facility were planned for New Baltimore to serve the

South Pennsylvania Railroad The South Pennsylvania Railroad is the name given to two proposed, but never completed, railroads in Pennsylvania during the 19th century. Parts of the right-of-way (railroad), right of way for the second South Pennsylvania Railroad were reused f ...

. In the end, construction on the railroad stopped and the tracks were never laid, and New Baltimore lost its chance to become a significant railroading center. The New Baltimore Bridge, built in 1879, was added to 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 1980.

Geography

New Baltimore is located at (39.983808, −78.772154). The borough is located on the eastern edge of Allegheny Township, along its border with Bedford County. 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 ...

, New Baltimore has a total area of , all land. Farmlands predominate in the village and the mountain range, with the majority of the area forested to the west.

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 168 people, 66 households, and 48 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 75 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 96.43%

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 ...

and 3.57% Asian. There were 66 households, out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.2% 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, 4.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.92. In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 104.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.7 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $30,000, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $22,031 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 $14,552. About 8.0% of families and 5.8% 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 9.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 5.9% of those 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Berlin Brothersvalley School District.

Transportation

New Baltimore is just north of the

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike, sometimes shortened to Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road which is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in Pennsylvania. It runs for across the southern part of the st ...

(Interstates 70 and

Interstate 76 Interstate 76 or I-76 may refer to: Transportation * Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska) (I-76), US * Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey) (I-76), running through Pennsylvania, US Other uses * ''Interstate '76'', a vehicular combat video game for W ...

) but it has no interchange, it is also accessed via U.S. 30 (

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

Church of the Turnpike

New Baltimore is perhaps best known for being home to the St. John the Baptist Church, a

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

church located on the southern end of town. The church is unique in that it had two sets of steps along the

at milepost 129, one set of each side of the highway. (The church itself is located on the eastbound side of the highway.) The steps dated from when the Turnpike first opened, as part of an informal, unwritten pact between the

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) is an agency created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate, and maintain the Pennsylvania Turnpike (both the mainline and the Northeast Extension). The commission consists of five members. Four memb ...

(PTC) and the church after St. John's Church was separated from the rest of New Baltimore due to the Turnpike passing through. In addition, Carmelite priests were buried on the right-of-way of the Turnpike, and their graves had to be moved. The steps were long a novelty of the Turnpike and to curious travelers who have stopped along the Turnpike just to stop at the church. In 2007, the PTC announced that it would eventually remove the steps that lead to St. John's Church. The steps were primarily being removed due to a widening project for the Turnpike. While a written pact has not been found by either the church or the PTC, even if a written pact were to be found, the Turnpike was forbidden by federal regulations to replace the steps in any case due to safety concerns. Despite the announcement, the PTC didn't start removing the steps until November 2022 when demolition work on the eastbound side of the steps began. The removal was completed by August 2023.

References

External links

* (channel wpsu, July 8, 2009) {{authority control Boroughs in Somerset County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1829