A view of Kittanning. The court house and bridge can be clearly seen.
Kittanning is a borough and the county seat of
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania,
USA. It is sited 44 miles (71 km) northeast of Pittsburgh along the east bank of the Allegheny River.
The name means "at the great stream" in the Delaware (Native American) language.
Early in the twentieth century, it had large iron and steel works, foundries, coal
mines, glassworks, flour and lumber mills, China, pottery, brick, lime, and clay works, mirror and typewriter factories,
breweries, etc.
In 1900, 3,902 people lived in Kittanning, and in 1910, there were
4,311 inhabitants. After Kittanning merged with Wickboro, an estimated 10,000 residents lived in Kittanning in 1914. In 1930, there were 7,808 residents; in 1940,
7,550. The population was 4,787 at the 2000 census. It is the
county seat of Armstrong
County6. It is located on the east
bank of the Allegheny River, founded on the site of the 18th century Native American village of
Kittanning at the western end of the Kittanning
Path. The village was destroyed by a British raid in 1756 during the French and Indian War. The blast from the explosion of gunpowder stored in the chief's house was
heard in Pittsburgh, 44 miles away.
It was the filming location for the 2002 movie,
The Mothman Prophecies starring Richard
Gere and Laura Linney.
Geography
Kittanning is located at 40°49′12″N, 79°31′17″W (40.820085,
-79.521398)1. According to the
United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.7
km² (1.0 mi²), all land.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 4,787 people, 2,032 households, and 1,117 families residing
in the borough. The population density was 1,777.2/km² (4,615.2/mi²). There were
2,251 housing units at an average density of 835.7/km² (2,170.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.31%
White, 1.57% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67% of the population.
There were 2,032 households out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.7% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.0% were
non-families. 40.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the borough the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 20.3%
from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 82.5
males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.2 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $20,921, and the median income for a family was $30,822. Males had a
median income of $29,036 versus $20,040 for females. The per capita income for the
borough was $13,787. About 12.3% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.
Historical Trivia
- Back when there were still train tracks in town, there were many hotels in the area, two of them were Hotel Steim and Hotel
Alexander, neither of which are still there today.
- The original bridge to cross the Allegheny River was removed. The current bridge,
the Kittanning Citizens Bridge was built higher than the old bridge because
of flooding. The town and the bridge were the focus of the movie, The Mothman
Prophecies, which was filmed in the borough.
- Where the current Family Dollar Store is there use to be a building called The
Reynolds house, which burnt down.
- The playground on North Jefferson Street used to be The Kittanning Cemetery. They moved some of 274 graves to a new cemetery
on Troy Hill Road in 1960.
- Kittanning was chosen as the primary filming location for The Mothman
Prophecies because of its bridge, which is central to the plot of the movie; and not just because it resembles a dingy,
dying West Virginia town, as has been erroneously reported. There are many such West Virginia towns without bridges that would
have otherwise been suitable.
Media
- The Leader-Times, Armstrong County's only daily newspaper.
- WTYM AM 1380 Kittanning
- FamilyLife TV -- Cable station with local programming
- Kittanning.com -- A privately-owned website with an online walking tour of Kittanning (photo essay).
- Local4All -- Local4All has its main office in Kittanning. Its Kittanning Community Page has photos, links, and other
community information accessible via the Internet. Local4All also produces and distributes placemats in 15 area restaurants.
Schools in Kittanning
All schools in the Kittanning attendance area are a part of the Armstrong School District (Pennsylvania)
West Hills Primary School (WHPS)
West Hills Intermediate School (WHIS)
Kittanning Junior High School (KJHS)
Kittanning Senior High School (KSHS)
Businesses in Kittanning
700 Shop
Century 21 Roger Stone Agency
Eckerd
Family Dollar
Fox's Pizza Den
IGA (supermarkets)
Hallmark
Obade Candy Co. Inc.
External links
Coordinates:
40.820085° N 79.521398°
W Kittanning Area Calendar: http://www.armstrongcounty.com/events/calendar.php
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