Saltillo, Pennsylvania facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Saltillo, Pennsylvania
Borough
The Hudson Grist Mill
Saltillo, Pennsylvania Location in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Saltillo, Pennsylvania Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Huntingdon
Government
• Type	Borough Council
Area
• Total	0.25 sq mi (0.65 km2)
• Land	0.25 sq mi (0.65 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	824 ft (251 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	309
• Density	1,226.19/sq mi (473.56/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	17253
Area code(s)	814
FIPS code	42-67632
GNIS feature ID	1215278
Local phone exchanges: 447, 448

Saltillo is a small town, called a borough, in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. In 2020, about 309 people lived there.

Saltillo's History and Past

Saltillo got its name from the Battle of Saltillo in Mexico, which happened in 1840. This town was a big center for tanning (making leather from animal hides) in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Leas and McVitty Tannery, known for its good quality leather, was located here.

The East Broad Top Railroad

The main line of the East Broad Top Railroad (EBT) was built through Saltillo in 1874. This railroad helped the tannery and also served a short-lived iron mine and a limestone quarry nearby. Saltillo was an important stop for the EBT. It had a three-track yard, a station, a water tank, and a turning wye (a Y-shaped track for turning trains around).

After 1900, a large ganister quarry was started above Saltillo on Jacks Mountain. Ganister is a type of rock used to make heat-resistant bricks. This quarry supplied a plant in Mount Union. In 1942, a special track was built from the EBT yard in Saltillo. It climbed the mountain to a tipple (a structure for loading materials) below the quarry. This track was the steepest on the EBT. It was used until the railroad closed in 1956. The quarry kept working into the 1970s, with trucks carrying the rock. Today, the EBT tracks in Saltillo are still there. The old water tank burned down in the 1980s, and the station was taken down in the mid-2000s.

Ancient Discovery: The Mastodon

Around 1935, something amazing was found behind the ball field in Saltillo. Two young men were digging a drainage ditch and discovered the skeleton of a mastodon. Mastodons were ancient, elephant-like animals. They dug up several bones, teeth, and both tusks. They gave these finds to the landowner, C.R. Cornelius. He later gave them to Penn State University, where you can see them today. In the 1990s, Penn State went back to the site and found even more bones that had been missed before.

Historic Mill in Saltillo

The Hudson Grist Mill is located at the southwest edge of Saltillo. A grist mill is a place where grain is ground into flour. This historic mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Saltillo's Location and Landscape

Saltillo is in the southern part of Huntingdon County. It sits in a valley next to North Spring Branch. It's at the western base of Jacks Mountain. Pennsylvania Routes 655 and 829 both run through the town as Main Street.

PA 655 goes south about 14 miles to Hustontown. PA 829 goes southeast about 1.7 miles to Three Springs. Both highways go north together for about 2 miles until they split in Knightsville. Huntingdon, which is the main town of the county (the county seat), is about 22 miles north if you take PA 655 and U.S. Route 22.

The United States Census Bureau says that Saltillo covers about 0.65 square kilometers (0.25 square miles) of land. There is no water area within the borough.

Saltillo's Population and People

In 2000, there were 343 people living in Saltillo. There were 135 households and 100 families. The population density was about 1,112.6 people per square mile. Most of the people (99.13%) were White.

About 34.8% of households had children under 18 living with them. Most households (67.4%) were married couples living together. About 22.2% of all households were made up of people living alone. About 11.9% of people lived alone and were 65 years old or older. The average household had 2.54 people, and the average family had 3.01 people.

The population was spread out by age. About 27.7% were under 18. About 33.5% were between 25 and 44 years old. The median age was 34 years. This means half the people were younger than 34, and half were older.

The median income for a household in Saltillo was $32,917. For a family, it was $40,000. The average income per person in the borough was $14,333. About 7.8% of the population lived below the poverty line. This included 10.3% of those under 18.