Armagh

History

Armagh is the oldest community in Indiana County, having been founded in 1792 by eight families led by James and Margaret Jane Graham from Ireland. The community was named after the Irish city and county of Armagh, which was the hometown of some of the settlers. Its first school began in 1799, using a log cabin, and in 1805, it established the county's first post office. Many of the original settlers were Presbyterian. The Wheatfield Presbyterian Church, later known simply as the Armagh Presbyterian Church, was started in 1786. The Rev. George Hill, its first minister, was installed in 1792, and was shared with churches in Fairfield and Donegal. In 1820, the congregation built a log church and in 1835–1836 replaced it with a white frame church. Another Presbyterian church was built in 1905 in Seward, approximately three miles south. The two congregations merged in 1963. The Armagh church building was destroyed in 2004 after being hit by a truck. The community became a borough on April 10, 1824, having previously been part of East Wheatfield Township. The borough was the birthplace of pioneer American labor leader William H. Sylvis in 1828. Armagh was described in the 1940 Pennsylvania Guide as being "settled in 1792 by Irish immigrants, who found the hillside bare except for a few scrubby oaks; hence the name. In stagecoach days Armagh had almost as many taverns as it has houses today."

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  5,767
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  5,594
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  5,481
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,123
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,104
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,134
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,992
• Eastern Towhee

  Pipilo erythrophthalmus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,625

Largest nearby schools

• United El Sch
  Elementary · Armagh · 463 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• River Valley HS
  High · Blairsville · 425 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• United JSHS
  High · Armagh · 418 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Blairsville El Sch
  Elementary · Blairsville · 399 students · 12.9:1 ratio
• Homer-Center JSHS
  High · Homer City · 383 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Homer-Center El Sch
  Elementary · Homer City · 381 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• River Valley MS
  Middle · Blairsville · 304 students · 13.2:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2020-10-06
  5 km WSW of Bolivar, Pennsylvania