New Centerville 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 127 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. It should not be confused with the unincorporated village of New Centerville in Tredyffrin Township.

Geography

New Centerville is located at (39.941712, -79.192047) and is surrounded by Milford Township. 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.

Pennsylvania Route 281 Pennsylvania Route 281 (PA 281) is a state highway located in Fayette and Somerset counties in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is the West Virginia state line near Markleysburg, where the road becomes West Virginia Route 26 (WV 26). The ...

and Pennsylvania Route 653 both pass through New Centerville. From New Lexington to New Centerville, they form a

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

; in New Centerville, Route 653 splits off and runs southeastward to the borough of Rockwood while Route 281 continues northeast to the borough of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

History

A schoolhouse was built in what is now New Centerville about 1800, and Jacob Weimer taught there for several years. A church was built about 1813 and was shared by the Lutherans and the Presbyterians, and the Methodists built one about 1850. Michael Freeze arrived in the vicinity of New Centerville in 1830 and laid out the town in 1834. A tannery was built around 1840 by Josiah Miller. New Centerville was incorporated as a borough on March 6, 1854.

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 193 people, 85 households, and 61 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 86 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 98.45%

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 ...

, 1.04%

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 ...

and 0.52% Asian.

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 1.04% of the population. There were 85 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.1% 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, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.1% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.71. In the borough the population was spread out, with 20.2% under the age of 18, 2.1% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 23.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $37,750, and the median income for a family was $45,833. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $19,167 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 $21,873. None of the families and 5.5% of the population were living 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 no under eighteens and 16.1% of those over 64.

Culture

Each September, the New Centerville & Rural Volunteer Fire Company sponsors the Farmers & Threshermens Jubilee. This multi-day festival highlights the role that traction steam engines played in early 20th century

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and includes activities such as a parade,

threshing machine A threshing machine or a thresher is a piece of agricultural machinery, farm equipment that separates grain seed from the plant stem, stalks and husks. It does so by beating the plant to make the seeds fall out. Before such machines were developed ...

demonstrations, antique

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

displays, and tractor & truck pulling.

References

{{authority control Boroughs in Somerset County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1834 1854 establishments in Pennsylvania