Map of Marion Center borough, Pennsylvania

Marion Center is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 413 at the 2020 census.

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Marion Center location map. Where is Marion Center borough?

History

The village was laid out by John Park in 1841 and named Marion after the Revolutionary War hero General Francis Marion. The Indiana Register first advertised lots for sale on September 1, 1841. Marion became incorporated as a borough in June 1869. The post office used a name distinct from the town (Brady Post Office) until December 26, 1890 when both were changed to Marion Center.

In 1885, New York banker Adrien Iselin purchased the Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railway. A branch near the Jefferson-Indiana County Line (Indiana Junction) led south into Indiana County ending at Vintondale. The tracks from Jefferson County into Indiana County were first laid near Juneau in October 1902. Trains ran through Marion Center by April 1903. The first passenger train stopped at Marion Center on May 3, 1904. The last train, the Hoodlbug, left on June 10, 1950.

Marion Center had a vibrant community life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Two hotels were erected on Main Street in the 19th century. Hotel Marion, built in 1879 by Alexander Adams, had 15 rooms and was three stories tall. It burned in the 1920s. The second hotel, Mahoning House, at the corner of Main and Manor Streets, occupied the site of the former general store operated by McLaughlin, Kinter, and Company. Horatio Simons converted it to a hotel on June 1, 1904. It was torn down in the 1930s to make way for Harry Black’s service station. A dentist office (operated by Dr. L. N. Park) and a pharmacy (operated by William Griffith) were located on Main Street near the store of H. P. Wetzel (located at Craig and Main Streets). By 1887, Wetzel had built a store measuring 20- by 40 feet (12 m). He later added an additional 40 feet (12 m) to the store. He was succeeded by Frank Wetzel who operated a grocery store on the site until the 1940s.

A summer normal school operated in the borough in the early 20th century. Joseph Weaver instructed students during the approximately 12-week course. Passing the superintendent’s exam upon completion of the program licensed one to teach in the county’s common schools. The first school in Marion Center, a log building on North Manor Street, burned in 1834. Its first teacher was William Work. A second school was built on the same site in 1848. A third building was erected in the 1860s. The North Manor Street site became home to the area’s high school (1916–1929). It was torn down in the late 2000s to make way for a public park (named after famous local artist, Linton Park).

Marion Center Road Map

Marion Center city Satellite Map

Geography

Marion Center is located at 40°46′11″N 79°2′57″W / 40.76972°N 79.04917°W / 40.76972; -79.04917 (40.769782, -79.049030). Marion Center has been assigned the zip code of 15759 and is a part of area code 724.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km), all land.

Pennsylvania Route 403 runs through the center of Marion Center, entering from the south where it becomes Manor Street at the borough line. It then turns west onto Main Street and reaches its northern terminus just west of the borough at U.S. Route 119. The two main streets of the borough run perpendicular to one another: Manor Street, north-south, and Main Street, east-west. Both streets are broken up by short, one-block alleys.

Marion Center is connected to the villages of Deckers Point (via Deckers Point Road, concurrent with Main Street to the borough line), Dixonville (via South Manor Street, concurrent with PA-403 to the borough line), and Rochester Mills (via Richmond Road). Though US-119 does not pass through the borough, it connects the town to the micropolitan area of Indiana to the south and the larger borough of Punxsutawney to the north.

One unnamed tributary of Pine Run flows through the borough. It runs generally east-west and flows just south of Park Avenue, connecting to Pine Run west of the borough line and east of U.S. Highway 119. This stream has two in-flows. The first is very narrow, being small enough to easily step across, and drains the east side of the hill in the southeast section of the borough. The second drains the west side of the same hill and connects to the main flow behind the post office near its intersection with South Manor Street. All three minor water flows are perennial (though the very narrow one does dry up when rainfall is low) and have sources within the borough limits. Pine Run connects to Crooked Creek (a tributary of the Allegheny River) about five miles (8 km) south of the borough.

See also