Vintondale is a borough in Cambria 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. 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. The population was 414 as of the 2010 census.

History

Vintondale was founded by Warren Delano IV, maternal uncle of President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

in 1892. He was a property owner and mayor of the town. The town was described as "wild and wooly" upon its founding. The Vinton Colliery Company operated in the town and ran 6 mines, 152 coke ovens, and one of the first long wall mining operations within the U.S. It was the scene of many clashes between company guard and union organizers. Significantly, during a 1922 strike, New York lawyer for the then fledgling

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

, Arthur Garfield Hayes was imprisoned in the towns small jail with only one cell for 30 minutes for trespassing on company property -the staircase outside the company store. He was released on bail. To the north of town, the old Eliza Furnace sits on the

Ghost Town Trail The Ghost Town Trail is a rail trail in Western Pennsylvania that runs between Black Lick, Indiana County, and Ebensburg, Cambria County. Established in 1991 on the right-of-way of the former Ebensburg and Black Lick Railroad, the trail fo ...

. At its peak the furnace produced about 1,080 tons of iron annually, employed over 90 men and boys, and used 45 mules. The furnace 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 1991.

Geography

Vintondale is located on the western border of Cambria County at (40.478370, -78.914097), along the South Branch of Blacklick Creek. It is at the approximate midpoint of the

, a

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

extending through Cambria and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

counties. Vintondale is west of Ebensburg, the Cambria County seat, north of the city of Johnstown, and southeast of the borough of

. 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 ...

, Vintondale has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.49%, is water.

Landscape art

Vintondale is the home of Litmus Gardens, an environmental art project. As well, landscape architect Julie Bargmann collaborated with various artists, historians, hydrologist, and members of the local community to reconstruct Vintondale, Pennsylvania's

acid mine drainage Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD) is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines and coal mines. Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weatherin ...

into Vintondale Reclamation Park.

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 528 people, 210 households, and 145 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 231 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 100.00%

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 ...

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 0.76% of the population. There were 210 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% 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, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.04. In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 102.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $22,386, and the median income for a family was $34,688. Males had a median income of $25,000 versus $11,908 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 $11,689. About 9.4% of families and 8.6% 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 2.8% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1907 Land art Boroughs in Cambria County, Pennsylvania Company towns in Pennsylvania