Homer City, Pennsylvania
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| Political Statistics | |
| Founded | 1700's (laid out in 1854) |
| Location | Center Township, Indiana County |
|---|---|
| Mayor | Michael Gaydosh |
| Geographic Statistics | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
1.5 km² 1.5 km² 0.0 km² |
| Population (2000) | 1844 |
| Website | HomerCity.com |
Homer City is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,844 at the 2000 census. The Homer City Generating Station located outside of Homer City but it takes its name from the borough. Homer City is located in the Indiana metro area. The community was named for the ancient Greek poet, Homer.
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[edit] History
The history of Homer City dates back to the mid 1700's, when settlers began to establish homesteads on lands previously owned by six Indian nations. The village of Homer City was laid out in 1854 by William Wilson, who named it after the ancient Greek poet, Homer.
Although FMC Corporation is a major employer, there are many other businesses within the borough providing goods and services to our residents. These include a pharmacy, a bank, a grocery store, a department store, restaurants, a laundramat, barber shops, hair salons, physician's offices and other service oriented businesses, all of which are readily accessible. The Borough is a part of the Homer Center School District, with the schools being located just south of the Borough line. There is also a wide variety of residential housing available, from apartments and houses available to the general public to a senior citizen apartment complex.
Homer City is surrounded by much history. Homer City is 6 miles from Indiana, Pennsylvania where Actor Jimmy Stewart, Author Tawni O'Dell and American Football League running back Jim Nance were all born, raised and attended school there. Some Notable Alumni from IUP (the university in Indiana) is The Clarks (band), Kris Griffin (Kanas City Chief's Linebacker), Arthur Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers owner), Lindsey Vuolo (Playboy Playmate), Chad Hurley (YouTube's Co-Founder), LeRon McCoy (Arizona Cardinal's Wide-Reciever), and Chris Villarrial (Guard for the Buffalo Bills). Homer City is about 16 from Home, Pennsylvania, more famously known for being the setting for an America-banned episode of the X-Files called "Home". State/US Representative Dave Reed was born in Homer City/Indiana and attended Homer-Center High School. He still resides in the Homer City/Indiana area to this day. Homer City is also about 27 miles from Buttermilk Falls, which was once the home to Fred McFeely, grandfather of Fred Rogers ("Mister Rogers"). The Homer City Power Plant has the tallest chimney in the United States and the third tallest in the world.
Homer City Borough is situated 6 miles from Indiana, 30 miles from Greensburg, 25 miles from Johnstown, and 50 miles from Pittsburgh.
[edit] Events
[edit] The Hoodlebug Summer Festival
The Hoodlebug Fest. is a festival held in July, always on a sunday (usually on the first sunday in July). The Hoodlebug Festival gets its name from the Hoodlebug Trail, which gets its name from the train "The HoodleBug" which used to run through Homer City, before they closed the trains down. There are many things to do at the Hoodlebug Festival. There's a Kid's Zone, with fun activities for children. There is many food booths, with all different kinds of foods. Usually, they have a "bouncy room", and sometimes they have a huge inflatable slide. There is also many booths which local businesses set up and sell their merchandise. Local organizations and groups (as in the local Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts) will also set up booths for fundraisers. There is also games, where, in most of them, people win prizes. There is a dunk tank (no prizes given), one hole mini golf, "Grab the Duckies", there is a game where you must toss a ping-pong ball into one of the glass cups on a raft floating in a kiddie pool. There is also a "Money Wheel", where you place dollar bills on a picture of a certain amount of money, once everyone has placed their bet, they spin the wheel and if it lands on the amount of money that you have placed your bet on, you keep your money and you also get the amount that you betted on. This is very popular with the Homer-Center High School Students, as they spend most of their money on this game, and they play it almost all day. Most people attend the Hoodlebug Fest., as do many people from outside Homer City, even outside of Indiana County.
[edit] The Sanso's Festival
The Sanso's Festival was a festival held in the summer, and was sponsered by the Italian Resurant and Deli "Sanso's", located in Homer City. The Sanso's Fest., of course, had much to do with the Italian Culture. Most of the town would gather in the Sanso's parking lot annually for music, some games, good food, and for the adults, lots of beer, and would end with a fireworks display that could be seen from miles away. The Sanso's Fest. is no longer celebrated because, one reason is because of the accidental fire that happened in the Sanso's attic, cancaling that year's celebrations, though there may be other reasons why.
[edit] Steelers Basketball
For a couple of years, some of the Pittsburgh Steelers would come to Homer-Center High School, and play basketball aganist the Homer-Center coaches. Though the coaches would always lose, everyone would have a wonderful time, getting autographs and watching their coaches, and some coaches are even teachers at Homer-Center, get trounced by the Steelers. These basketball games would bring a little over 1500 people to the "HomerDome". Some people would travel from as far as Indianapolis, Indiana to watch this game. People from all over the state of Pennsylvania came to watch it, as of most of the Homer-Center School District and their families. Supposedly, Homer-Center High School is the first high school in Pennsylvania to do something like this with the Steelers. Though the Steelers have not come back in about 2 years, these games have been started all across Pennsylvania.
[edit] Geography
Homer City is located at (40.539672, -79.159244)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 1,844 people, 805 households, and 511 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,271.4/km² (3,298.3/mi²). There were 869 housing units at an average density of 599.1/km² (1,554.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.40% White, 0.22% African American, 0.05% Asian, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.33% of the population.
There were 869 households out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the borough the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $30,815, and the median income for a family was $39,375. Males had a median income of $31,607 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $16,293. About 8.4% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
Major ancestry groups reported by Homer City residents would include: 18% German, 17% Italian, 11% Irish, 9% Polish, 7% Slovak, 7% English, 5% Dutch, 3% Scotch-Irish, 3% Scottch, 2% Hungarian, 1% Swedish, 1% Ukrainian, 1% French (except Basque), 1% Pennsylvania German, 1% Croatian, 1% Welsh, 1% Russian, 1% Norwegian, 1% Slovene and 1% Slavic.
[edit] Elected Officials
Homer City Borough's elected officials consist of a seven member council and a mayor. The council of Homer City meets the first Tuesday of every month for general business.
Mayor: M. Gaydosh
Borough Council members:
Arlene Barker
Kenneth Cecconi
Bea Harris
David Meyers
Kevin Walker
K. Yancy
Matt Yurky
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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County Seat: Indiana |
|---|---|
| Boroughs |
Armagh | Blairsville | Cherry Tree | Ernest | Glen Campbell | Homer City | Indiana | Marion Center | Plumville | Saltsburg | Shelocta | Smicksburg |
| Townships |
Armstrong | Banks | Black Lick | Brush Valley | Buffington | Burrell | Canoe | Center | Cherryhill | Conemaugh | East Mahoning | East Wheatfield | Grant | Green | Montgomery | North Mahoning | Pine | Rayne | South Mahoning | Washington | West Mahoning | West Wheatfield | White | Young |
| Communities and CDPs |
Black Lick | Chevy Chase Heights | Clarksburg | Commodore | Dixonville | Heilwood | Home | Jacksonville | Lucerne Mines | Rossiter |
