Shanksville, Pennsylvania

Geobox|Settlement
name = Shanksville
native_name =
other_name =
other_name1 =
category = Borough
etymology_type = Named for
etymology = Christian Shank (founder)
official_name = Borough of Shanksville
nickname =
motto =

---

image_caption = Main Street in Shanksville


flag_size =
symbol =
symbol_type =
symbol_size =
country = United States
country_

state = Pennsylvania
state_

region = Somerset County
region_type = County
district = Stonycreek Township
district_type = Township
landmark =
river =
location =
lat_d = 40
lat_m = 1
lat_s = 2
lat_NS = N
long_d = 78
long_m = 54
long_s = 21
long_EW = W
elevation_imperial =
elevation_round = 0
area_imperial =
area_land_imperial =
area_water_imperial =
area_water_percentage =
area_percentage_round =
area_round = 1
population_as_of = 2000
population = 245
population_density_imperial = 1391.9
population_density_round = 1
established_type = Settled
established = 1798
established1_type = Incorporated
established1 = January 25, 1913
mayor =
timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
postal_code =
postal_code_type = ZIP code
area_code =
area_code_type =
code2_type =
code2 =
free_type = School District
free =


map_caption =
map1 = Pennsylvania Locator Map.png map1_caption = Location of Shanksville in Pennsylvania
map1_locator = Pennsylvania
map2 = Map of USA PA.svg
map2_caption = Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
website =

Shanksville is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 245, as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Pittsburgh Tri-State. Shanksville came to international attention during the September 11, 2001 attacks, with the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 nearby.

History

Shanksville's history is traced back to 1798. It is named after Christian Shank, who operated a grist mill and two saw mills in the vicinity. Shanksville was incorporated as a borough on January 25, 1913. [cite web |url=http://www.rootsweb.com/~pasomers/stonycreek/history.html |title=History of StonyCreek Township |author=Wilson, Ruth Hunter, Nelle Shank Hunter, Nancy Hallberg]

On September 11, 2001, United Flight 93 crashed in a nearby site. It gave Shanksville international attention, as it was a part of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The hijackers had probably intended to crash the airplane in Washington, D.C.

Geography

Shanksville is located at coor dms|40|1|2|N|78|54|21|W|city (40.017182, -78.905891)GR|1, with the borough covering 0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²).

Shanksville has the seventh-highest elevation of towns in Pennsylvania, at 2230 feet. [ [http://www.maps-n-stats.com/us_pa_elevation.html Highest Elevation of Towns in Pennsylvania] ]

The town is primarily residential, with a small service station, Beaner's Marine, Ida's Country Store, a grocery store owned by Rick King, Creekside Country Store, a locally owned gift and craft shop, and the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department. Shanksville United Methodist Church and St Mark Lutheran Church are also located here.

Flight 93 National Memorial

United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001 in Stonycreek Township, two miles north of the town of Shanksville. A temporary memorial is located on a hill, about 500 yards from the crash site. The permanent Flight 93 National Memorial will be built at the crash site, with construction to be completed by the 10th anniversary in 2011.

hanksville's Firehouse

New York City firefighters donated a memorial to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department. It is a cross made of steel from the World Trade Center and mounted atop a platform shaped like a pentagon. [cite news
last=GANASSI |first=MICHELLE
title=NY firefighter donating steel to Shanksville
url=http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/08/22/news/news/news808.txt
date=2008-08-25
work=Daily American
accessdate=2008-08-22] It was installed outside the firehouse on August 25, 2008. Shanksville's volunteer firefighters had rushed to the United Airlines Flight 93 crash scene to search for survivors. [cite news
last=GASKELL |first=STEPHANIE
title=Pa. site of 9/11 crash gets WTC beam |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/08/24/2008-08-24_pa_site_of_911_crash_gets_wtc_beam.html
date=2008-08-25
work=New York Daily news
accessdate=2008-08-25]

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 245 people, 96 households, and 69 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,391.9 people per square mile (525.5/km²). There were 100 housing units at an average density of 568.1/sq mi (214.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 100.00% White.

There were 96 households out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the borough the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $29,980, and the median income for a family was $40,833. Males had a median income of $25,250 versus $22,917 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $14,500. About 4.8% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under the age of eighteen and 12.5% of those sixty five or over.

References