Patton is a borough in Cambria County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. It is northwest of Altoona, in an agricultural region. It is part of 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 ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,728 at the 2020 census.

History

Patton's economy was formerly centered around the Patton Clay Manufacturing Company. The factory was one of the largest clay and brick concerns in the world in the first half of the 1900s. The company manufactured

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

products (pipe and tiles), building bricks, and pavers (known as "Patton Pavers") from 1893 until it closed in 1968. Bricks made there were used in the construction of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

, and the pavers were used around the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

in France. The products were made from clay excavated from the area. Due to the closure of the Clay Works, Patton's economy and population declined. The Patton Historic District 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 1996.

Geography

Patton is located in northern Cambria County at (40.634466, -78.650812), in the valley of

Chest Creek Chest Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Cambria County and Clearfield County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Allegheny Township, East Carroll Township, Clearfield Tow ...

, a northward-flowing tributary of the West Branch of 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 ...

. Ebensburg, 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 ...

, is to the south. 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 of Patton 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 2,023 people, 886 households, and 539 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 980 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 99.80%

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 ...

, 0.05% Native American, and 0.15% 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 0.05% of the population. There were 886 households, out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% 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, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.3% 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 3.00. In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 86.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $22,546, and the median income for a family was $35,473. Males had a median income of $26,940 versus $16,875 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 $13,851. About 11.5% of families and 14.2% 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 11.0% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* George Engle Prindible - Industrialist, Banker and Philanthropist was the General Manager of the Patton Clay Manufacturing Company for 40 years as well as the Patton Borough Burgess, Councilman and Council President for 40 years. * George Smith Good - Union Officer, Industrialist was one of the founders of Patton. *

Rembert Weakland Rembert George Samuel Weakland (April 2, 1927 – August 22, 2022) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 to 2002. Weakland previously served as Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation from 196 ...

of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of ...

was born in Patton.

References

External links

Patton official website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1844 Boroughs in Cambria County, Pennsylvania