Gallitzin (Pennsylvania)

Cambria County

42-28328

Gallitzin is a municipality ( Borough ) in Pennsylvania. In the 2000 census, it had 1756 inhabitants in an area of 1.8 km ². The railway tunnel, which have existed since the 1850s, part of a major east-west corridor are known.

Geography

The small town is located in the Allegheny Mountains in central Pennsylvania at an altitude of 677 meters. The area traversed by the Gallitzin Tunnels Hill is part of the Eastern Continental Divide, Gallitzin is already in the catchment area of the Mississippi River.

Administratively, the city is part of Cambria County. In the north, west and south of the Gallitzin Township surrounds the town, east closes immediately the place to Tunnel Hill.

History

Gallitzin is named after the Catholic priest and missionary Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, who also founded the nearby settlement of Loretto. Gallitzin itself was founded in 1850 during the construction of a railway line over the Allegheny Mountains, and was until 1873 part of the Gallitzin Townships. Since December 3, 1873 Gallitzin is an independent municipality with the status of a borough.

As the place is a large part of Cambria county was dominated by coal mining, which began in 1850 and was an important economic activity. Companies such as the Gallitzin Coal & Coke Company, or the Taylor & McCoy Coal & Coke Company promoted coal and coke set forth. After the Second World War, coal production declined and thus lost jobs. The population of Gallitzin decreased gradually after the peak of 3618 inhabitants in the year 1940.