Newton Hamilton

History

On June 15, 1762, Hugh Brown obtained a warrant for two hundred and fifty acres of land, a portion of which would later become known as the borough of Newton Hamilton. Sometime before 1783, Brown was killed during an encounter with Indigenous peoples in the area. During the resolution of Brown's estate, that land was inherited by Margaret Hamilton, according to 18th-century land ownership and assessment documents in Pennsylvania's Juniata and Susquehanna Valley region, which show that Hamilton's land holdings were assessed at sixty acres in 1783. Hamilton subsequently sold "lots 28-29 'in the general plan of Newton Hamilton' to Samuel McCurdy on January 19, 1802," according to historian Franklin Ellis, who also noted that the town of Newton Hamilton "was laid out under its present name about 1802" by Margaret Hamilton, who "lived and died there." Those plots of land were described in records of the period as having been fifty by one hundred and fifty feet, and were situated on what is, today, the north side of the borough's Front Street. Hamilton then sold lots fifty-seven and fifty-eight to James Irvine on April 18, 1803. Sixty by one hundred and thirty feet each, those lots were located on what is, today, the south side of Newton Hamilton's Second Street. When Catharine (McAneer) Murfin relocated with her parents to Newton Hamilton in 1826, the hamlet was composed of just seven log homes, which were owned by wheelwright Acquilla Burchfield, John McGeehan, John Murray, John Shafer, and others. By 1830, the town also had a school, which was operated by Samuel Cross in a house adjacent to the land that would become the site of the Sigler mansion. Within six years, the town had grown to include the following residents and workers: From 1850 to 1877, John Smelker…

Geography

Newton Hamilton is located at (40.392831, −77.835081). According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and (10.53%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  5,080
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,909
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  4,390
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,312
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,278
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,952
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  3,910
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,763

Largest nearby schools

• Mount Union-Kistler El Sch
  Elementary · Mount Union · 295 students · 9.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.81 — 2019-09-15
  5 km ESE of East Berlin, Pennsylvania
• M 3.44 — 2019-06-13
  9 km N of Blain, Pennsylvania
• M 3.05 — 2010-06-03
  4 km ENE of Franklintown, Pennsylvania
• M 2.76 — 2009-10-25
  4 km ENE of Franklintown, Pennsylvania
• M 2.93 — 2009-04-24
  1 km S of Franklintown, Pennsylvania