Herminie

History

Herminie (pronounced hurr-many) is named for Herminie Berwind, whose husband, Charles Berwind, was President of the Ocean Coal Company. The first mine at Herminie, known as the "Ocean No. 1 Mine," was opened in 1893 by Berwind-White Coal Company, of which Ocean Coal Company was a subsidiary. Fifty double houses were built for miners, plus five single-family houses for managers on Church Street. By 1900, the mine employed 271 people. At approximately 8:30 PM on Saturday, March 16, 1974, seven young men who were all classmates at the town's Sewickley High School were riding in a compact car when as their driver attempted to negotiate a curve at an excessive rate of speed, he lost control of his vehicle, skidded onto the berm and crashed through a pair of guard rails before skidding sideways on a downgrade into the oncoming path of a pickup truck that was carrying five young people. Five of the victims were declared dead at the scene of the accident while a sixth victim succumbed to complications of his injuries received the following day at a nearby hospital. While only one teenage boy from the car became the sole survivor, all five people from the pickup truck survived after being taken to the same hospital as the sixth victim. The county's second-worst vehicular accident in its history sent shockwaves across Pennsylvania and across the country. Following an investigation made and concluded by the Greensburg and Herminie Police Departments, the primary cause of the accident was due to the driver's failure of judgment via overcrowding the vehicle, not wearing seat belts, failing to negotiate a curve and speeding.

Geography

Herminie is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,103
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  5,774
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  4,609
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,583
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,177
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  3,942
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  3,685
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,609

Largest nearby schools

• Hempfield Area SHS
  High · Greensburg · 1,661 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Norwin SHS
  High · North Huntingdon · 1,636 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• Penn Trafford HS
  High · Harrison City · 1,263 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Norwin MS
  Middle · North Huntingdon · 820 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Hillcrest Intermediate Sch
  Middle · North Huntingdon · 807 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Belle Vernon Area HS
  High · Belle Vernon · 752 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Rostraver El Sch
  Elementary · Belle Vernon · 646 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Greensburg-Salem MS
  Middle · Greensburg · 599 students · 13:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2024-09-11
  4 km WNW of Claysville, Pennsylvania
• M 2.9 — 2020-10-06
  5 km WSW of Bolivar, Pennsylvania