Catawissa 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 ...

in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Susquehanna Valley in Pennsylvania. The population was 1,539 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolitan area. Catawissa is twinned with

Uxbridge, Ontario Uxbridge is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham in south-central Ontario, Canada. Communities The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge. Other settlements within the township include the following: ...

. The historic link began in 1805, when the Uxbridge area was granted by the

British crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

to Dr. Christopher Beswick, first medical doctor north of the Oak Ridges Moraine. While not a Quaker, he lived in Catawissa before moving to the Uxbridge area. Beswick Lane in the Ontario town is named after him.

History

The area where Catawissa now is was originally owned by William Henry in 1769. Catawissa was laid out in 1787. At this time it was referred to as "Hughesburg" or "Catawissey". The town's lots were distributed by lottery. When boats began to commonly travel along the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

, Catawissa became locally important. Talk of a school in Catawissa began in 1796, and one was built there in 1800. The Catawissa Fire Company was founded in 1827. The Catawissa Deposit Bank was incorporated in 1871. The Catawissa Water Company was formed in 1882. A number of Masonic establishments were built in Catawissa in the mid to late 1800s. The Catawissa Friends Meetinghouse 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 1978.

Geography

Catawissa is located in western Columbia County at (40.952458, -76.460393), on the southeast side of the

. Catawissa Creek flows along the southern boundary of the borough into the Susquehanna. 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 , of which , or 4.50%, is water. The center of Catawissa is flat, with some hills in the northeast.

Major roads

Pennsylvania Route 42 and Pennsylvania Route 487 enter Catawissa, where they converge for a short distance. PA 42 leads west directly across the Susquehanna, then north to Bloomsburg, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, while PA 487 leads northeast then north to Bloomsburg, also in . PA 42 leads south to Centralia, and PA 487 leads southwest to Elysburg.

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 1,589 people, 710 households, and 428 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 762 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 97.48%

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 ...

, 0.69%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.19% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 1.32% 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 0.44% of the population. There were 710 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% 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, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.89. In the borough the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.7 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $30,262, and the median income for a family was $37,292. Males had a median income of $30,987 versus $21,210 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 $16,154. About 11.8% of families and 15.9% 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 25.1% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

The average high temperature in July in Catawissa is 84 °F and the average low during this month is 62 °F. The average high temperature in January is 35 °F and the average low temperature is 19 °F. The highest recorded temperature in Catawissa is 105 °F, which occurred in July 1988, August 1930, and September 1953. The lowest recorded temperature is -26°F, which occurred in January 1994. The driest month in Catawissa is February, which receives an average of 2.37 inches of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

. The wettest month is June, which receives an average of 4.5 inches of precipitation. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Catawissa has a hot-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfa''). The

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 6b bordering 7a

Notable people

* Samuel Lount, a leader of the

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...

, and one of several men hanged for his participation. * Owen D. Leib, congressman for Pennsylvania's District 11. * Bobby Rhawn, a Major League Baseball infielder of the 1940s. * Harold L. Ervin, a judge on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Paul K. Walp
political scientist

Education

Catawissa is in the Southern Columbia Area School District.
Text list
/ref> Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, with over 9,400 students, is the nearest university.

References

External links

Borough of Catawissa official website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1774 Bloomsburg–Berwick metropolitan area Boroughs in Columbia County, Pennsylvania 1892 establishments in Pennsylvania