Chicora, Pennsylvania

Geography

Chicora is located at 40°56′58″N 79°44′33″W (40.949468, -79.742631), along the upper reaches of Buffalo Creek. Pennsylvania Route 68 passes through the borough, leading east 9 miles (14 km) to East Brady on the Allegheny River and southwest 11 miles (18 km) to Butler, the county seat.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Chicora has a total area of 0.54 square miles (1.4 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,021 people, 419 households, and 287 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,841.9 people per square mile (716.7/km²). There were 463 housing units at an average density of 835.3 per square mile (325.0/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.51% White, 0.20% African American and 0.29% Native American.

There were 419 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $33,000, and the median income for a family was $39,375. Males had a median income of $32,143 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $17,815. About 3.5% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Chicora Meteor

On June 24, 1938, a meteorite fell in the vicinity of Chicora. Named the "Chicora Meteor", the 450+ tonne meteorite exploded approximately 12 miles (19 km) above the Earth's surface. Only two fragments of the meteorite were found following initial investigations. They had masses of 242g and 61g, and were discovered some miles short of the calculated point of impact of the main mass – which is yet to be found. Two more small fragments were found nearby in 1940.

Numerous reports of the Chicora Meteor mention that a cow was struck and injured by a falling stone; other accounts say that the cow was killed by the stone.

The meteor was an olivine-hypersthene chondrite. Its remains were split between the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution.

The sound and light of the exploding meteor were initially mistaken for an explosion in the powder magazine at West Winfield, and was compared by investigators F.W. Preston, E.P. Henderson and James R. Randolph as comparable to the Halifax Explosion of 1917 in destructive power. "If it had landed on Pittsburgh there would have been few survivors", they stated.