ST. MARYS, PENNSYLVANIA

'St. Marys' is a city in Elk County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 14,502 at the 2000 census. St. Marys, originally a small, Bavarian Catholic town, is home to Straub Brewery and the first Benedictine convent in the United States. It was founded in December 8, 1842.
Its downtown is currently under construction to make way for a Sheetz convenience store. Its retail corridor is also experiencing growth with the addition of Rite-Aid and several buildings around the newly built Wal-Mart Supercenter. They are also building a parking garage downtown.
St. Marys currently has three Roman Catholic parishes, St. Marys, Sacred Heart, and Queen of the World. St. Marys Parish, the so called German church and Sacred Heart Parish, the so called Irish church, are staffed by Benedictine monks from St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, PA. Queen of the World Parish, built during the baby boom, is staffed by priests from the Diocese of Erie.
St. Marys is home to Windfall Products, SGL Group - The Carbon Company, C/G Electrodes, Morgan AM&T, Metaldyne, Keystone Powdered Metal, OSRAM Sylvania (the biggest incandescent lighting factory in the country; they recently celebrated their centennial), St. Marys Carbon, Straub Brewery, Center Carbon, Abbott Furnace Co., Alpha Sintered Metals, Elco Sintered, Eastern Sintered, J & S Grinding Co., Buehler Lumber Company, Intech Metals, Inc., and GKN.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Airport

Schools

Landmarks

External links

Geography

St. Marys is located at (41.437600, -78.542724).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 257.7 km² (99.5 mi²). 257.2 km² (99.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.16%) is water. It is the second largest city, in land mass, in the state. The largest city, in land mass, is Philadelphia.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,502 people, 5,723 households, and 4,000 families residing in the city. The population density was 56.4/km² (146.0/mi²). There were 6,092 housing units at an average density of 23.7/km² (61.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.75% White, 0.23% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 0.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.30% of the population.
There were 5,723 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,593, and the median income for a family was $51,263. Males had a median income of $36,432 versus $22,947 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,885. About 2.9% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

Airport

St. Marys Municipal Airport is located 3 miles southeast of the city. Currently it is a general aviation airport, however commercial airlines are showing interest because of the new terminal building.

Schools

St. Marys Area Middle School
South St. Marys Street Elementary School
St. Marys Catholic Elementary School
St. Marys Catholic Middle School
Elk County Catholic High School(ECCHS)
St. Marys Area High School

Landmarks

Decker's Chapel - Built by Michael Decker after a back injury, it has been called the smallest chapel in America. It is located on South St. Marys Road.
St. Joseph's Convent - It is the oldest Benedictine women's community in the United States. Sisters sill serve the community today. It was founded in 1852.
Straub Brewery - It was founded in 1831, originally from the Pittsburgh area, the founder made a move to St. Marys in the 1850's. Today, you can take a tour of the Brewery and visit the Eternal Tap.

External links

St. Mary's is known as the Powder Metal Capital of the World