Shanksville, Pennsylvania

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Coordinates: 40°1′2″N 78°54′21″W / 40.01722, -78.90583
Shanksville
Borough
none Main Street in Shanksville
Main Street in Shanksville
Official name: Borough of Shanksville
Named for: Christian Shank (founder)
Country  United States
State  Pennsylvania
County Somerset County
Township Stonycreek Township
Coordinates 40°1′2″N 78°54′21″W / 40.01722, -78.90583
Population 245 (2000)
Density 1,391.9 /sq mi (537.4 /km²)
Settled 1798
 - Incorporated January 25, 1913
Timezone EST (UTC-5)
 - summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Location of Shanksville in Pennsylvania
Location of Shanksville in Pennsylvania
Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
Location of Pennsylvania in the United States

Shanksville is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 245, as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Pittsburgh Tri-State. Shanksville came to international attention during the September 11, 2001 attacks, with the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 nearby.

Contents

[edit] History

Shanksville's history is traced back to 1798. It is named after Christian Shank, who operated a grist mill and two saw mills in the vicinity. Shanksville was incorporated as a borough on January 25, 1913.[1]

On September 11, 2001, United Flight 93 crashed in a nearby site. It gave Shanksville international attention, as it was a part of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The hijackers had probably intended to crash the airplane in Washington, D.C.

[edit] Geography

Shanksville is located at 40°1′2″N 78°54′21″W / 40.01722, -78.90583 (40.017182, -78.905891)[2], with the borough covering 0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²).

Shanksville has the seventh-highest elevation of towns in Pennsylvania, at 2230 feet. [3]

The town is primarily residential, with a small service station, Beaner's Marine, Ida's Country Store, a grocery store owned by Rick King, Creekside Country Store, a locally owned gift and craft shop, and the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department. Shanksville United Methodist Church and St Mark Lutheran Church are also located here.

[edit] Flight 93 National Memorial

Photo of George W. Bush and Laura Bush visiting Shanksville on September 11, 2002.

United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001 in Stonycreek Township, two miles north of the town of Shanksville. A temporary memorial is located on a hill, about 500 yards from the crash site. The permanent Flight 93 National Memorial will be built at the crash site, with construction to be completed by the 10th anniversary in 2011.

[edit] Shanksville's Firehouse

New York City firefighters donated a memorial to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department. It is a cross made of steel from the World Trade Center and mounted atop a platform shaped like a pentagon. [4] It was installed outside the firehouse on August 25, 2008. Shanksville's volunteer firefighters had rushed to the United Airlines Flight 93 crash scene to search for survivors. [5]

[edit] Demographics

Ida's, the town's general store

As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 245 people, 96 households, and 69 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,391.9 people per square mile (525.5/km²). There were 100 housing units at an average density of 568.1/sq mi (214.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 100.00% White.

There were 96 households out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the borough the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $29,980, and the median income for a family was $40,833. Males had a median income of $25,250 versus $22,917 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $14,500. About 4.8% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under the age of eighteen and 12.5% of those sixty five or over.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wilson, Ruth Hunter, Nelle Shank Hunter, Nancy Hallberg. "History of StonyCreek Township".
  2. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Highest Elevation of Towns in Pennsylvania
  4. ^ GANASSI, MICHELLE (2008-08-25). "NY firefighter donating steel to Shanksville", Daily American. Retrieved on 22 August 2008. 
  5. ^ GASKELL, STEPHANIE (2008-08-25). "Pa. site of 9/11 crash gets WTC beam", New York Daily news. Retrieved on 25 August 2008. 
  6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
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