Windber 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 ...

Somerset County, Pennsylvania Somerset County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 74,129. Its county seat is Somerset, Pennsylvania, Somerset. ...

, United States, which is located approximately south of Johnstown. The population was 3,930 at the 2020 census. A former manufacturing town, Windber is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Windber was established in 1897 as a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

for nearby coal mines in the vicinity of Johnstown. The establishment was overseen by coal barons Charles and

Edward Julius Berwind Edward Julius Berwind (June 17, 1848 – August 18, 1936) was the founder of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. He was head of the company from 1886 until 1930. Early life Berwind was born on June 17, 1848, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. H ...

, owners of the

Berwind Corporation Berwind Corporation, previously also known as Berwind-White Coal Mining Company, is a large privately held American corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, The company has historically been involved in the coal industry, but has diversified i ...

; the name "Windber" simply switches the order of the two syllables in the family name "Berwind". The Berwind-White Coal Mining Company imported workers from eastern and southern Europe and exploited ethnic divisions in the area (which had been settled by Germans and Irish in the 19th century). On Good Friday 1922 during the UMW General coal strike, coal miners walked out of the mines in Windber and several nearby locations in Somerset County, attempting to force the mine owners to recognize their

United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American Labor history of the United States, labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing work ...

union, as well as accurately weigh the coal they mined. The company employed legal tactics (the United States Supreme Court decided two lawsuits) as well as strike-breakers, but the miners received considerable favorable national publicity and local support and held out until the end of the following summer.historic marker at http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-2CF However, the UMW successfully organized the mines during 1933, after the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

led to the election 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 ...

. The Vintage Electric Streetcar Company, popularly called the "trolley graveyard", is located in Windber. The private scrapyard houses a number of

PCC streetcar The Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) is a streetcar (tram) design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful domestically, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world where ...

s and other transit equipment from systems like the

MBTA Green Line The Green Line is a light rail system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in the Boston, Massachusetts, metropolitan area. It is the oldest MBTA subway line, and with tunnel sections dating from 1897, the oldest subway ...

, which are sold for reuse or scrapped for parts. The

Windber Historic District Windber Historic District is a national historic district located at Paint Borough, Scalp Level, and Windber in Cambria County and Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 944 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site. It ...

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

Windber is located at (40.235161, -78.830864). 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.

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 4,395 people, 2,019 households, and 1,185 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 2,177 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 99.29%

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 ...

, 0.07% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.16% from other races, and 0.36% 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 0.57% of the population. There were 2,019 households, out of which 25.1% had children under the age of eighteen living with them; 43.3% 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, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.6% had someone living alone who was sixty-five years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.89. In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.3% under the age of eighteen, 6.7% from eighteen to twenty-four, 25.3% from twenty-five to forty-four, 22.1% from forty-five to sixty-four, and 24.6% who were sixty-five years of age or older. The median age was forty-three years. For every one hundred females, there were 85.4 males. For every one hundred females who were aged eighteen or older, there were 81.9 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $23,261, and the median income for a family was $31,860. Males had a median income of $24,861 compared with that of $18,886 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 $15,078. Roughly 11.9% of families and 11.1% 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 13.5% of those who were under the age of eighteen and 8.8% of those who were aged sixty-five or older.

Education

Windber is served by the Windber Area School District.

Entertainment

The nearby Silver Drive-In first opened in 1962.(12 June 2009)
Reel success - County Amusement noting 60 years in movie business
''

The Tribune-Democrat ''The Tribune-Democrat'' is a five-day morning daily newspaper published in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is owned by CNHI LLC. The newspaper's coverage area includes all or parts of Blair, Bedford, Cambria, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland ...

'' While other such facilities in the area have closed over the course of years, the Silver survived through public outcry over proposals to close and demolish it, making a comeback in 2005.(12 December 2008)
Silver screen saved
''

''(11 August 2006)
Artist's touch adds character (s) to drive-in
''

''(7 September 2008)
Silver Drive-In owner mulls rezoning, sale
''

'' It is now the only

drive-in theater A drive-in theater/theatre or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, c ...

in 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 ...

region.

Notable people

Jim Bonfanti James Alexander Bonfanti (born December 17, 1948, in Windber, Pennsylvania) is an American rock drummer who is best known for having been a member of the band Raspberries. Career Bonfanti's music career began in 1965 when he saw The Beatles on ...

, drummer for the

Raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...

* Bill Elko, professional football player, nephew of Frank Kush *

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

, radio disc jockey who coined the term "Rock and Roll" *

Dave Geisel John David Geisel (born January 18, 1955) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, and Seattle Mariners. Overview Dave Geisel graduated from Tonawanda ...

, retired MLB player * Mark A. Heckler, President of

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

* Gene Heeter, professional football player *

Rebekah Jones Rebekah Jones (born July 25, 1989) is an American geographer, data scientist, and activist. She is known for her COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 activism in Florida, allegations against the Florida Department of Health and Florida Governor Ron DeSa ...

, geographer, data scientist, and activist *

Frank Kostro Frank Jerry Kostro (born August 4, 1937) is a retired American professional baseball player. The native of Windber, Pennsylvania appeared in 266 games over seven seasons (1962–65; 1967–69) for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels and Minn ...

, retired MLB player *

Frank Kush Frank Joseph Kush (January 20, 1929 – June 22, 2017) was an American football player and coach. As a player he earned All-American honors in 1952 as a defensive lineman playing for the Michigan State Spartans. He was head coach at Arizona S ...

, football coach *

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller ( ; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, ; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records o ...

, Olympic swimmer and Hollywood star * J. Irving Whalley, United States congressman

References

External links

Borough website

Windber Area School District
* {{authority control Boroughs in Somerset County, Pennsylvania Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1897 Company towns in Pennsylvania Berwind Corporation