Emporium, PA
 

Emporium (pop. 2,073) is the seat of Cameron County (pop. 5,085) in north-central Pennsylvania, and has an urban cluster population of 3,397. As Cameron County's only real town (the other borough, Driftwood, was an ephemeral lumber boomtown whose population is now 67), almost all of Cameron County's residents live in the Emporium area.

As of Census 2010, Cameron is Pennsylvania's least populous county, being surpassed by previous titleholder Forest County (which experienced 50% population growth due to the construction of a prison... Forest still has the smallest population of non-incarcerated Pennsylvanians). Cameron is an extremely rugged county whose territory is almost entirely the domain of Elk State Forest. Cameron County suffered Pennsylvania's steepest population loss from 2000-2010 at over 14%. It has consistently held PA's highest unemployment rate during this recession/pseudo-recovery. The local economy, almost entirely reliant on metals manufacturing, has been battered in recent years.

One of Pennsylvania's most remote towns, Emporium residents must travel long distances through deep valleys and dense woods to reach the neighboring small towns. Incorporated as a borough in 1864, Emporium initially grew as a center of lumbering and dynamite manufacturing. In 1924, Sylvania was founded in Emporium (now Osram Sylvania, a subsidiary of Siemens AG) whose radio receiving tube innovation fueled Emporium's prosperity during the mid-20th century. During WW2, Emporium was known as Girls Town, as young women from throughout the region came to Sylvania's Emporium facility to manufacture tubes, lamps and defense guidance systems. The plant was shuttered in the 1960s. The void was filled by powdered metals factories, which make parts for automobiles... a struggling domestic industry whose ripple effects have been felt severely in Emporium.

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the old Sylvania plant


























































Cameron County Courthouse
















































key scenes of last year's Unstoppable were filmed on rails near Emporium





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Thank you very much for this thread, Evergrey!

Beautiful tour across Pennsylvania. I like very much all these little towns you´re showing us. Very good pictures, very sharp and colorful.

Wonderful houses and landscape. Emporium looks very quiet, a pleasant place to live in. I suppose summer will be fresh and comfortable there.

Congratulations and greetings from Madrid, Spain!:tup:

It's out there.

Wonderful once again.
Just don't stop till you covered all small towns please!!! :D

And yet another beautiful PA town nestled in the mountains. These small towns remind me of the small German Villages I visited growing up where there were one or two dominant church structures, one Catholic and the other Protestant. Thanks Evergrey, I'm really liking your pics.And I really appreciatethe maps ahead of the pics so we can get an idea where these towns are located. A collective 5 stars on all your threads to date.

why mess with a winning formula? the evergrey road show is informative, pleasing to look at, and hits home. add emporium to the list of winners.

hooray for unstoppable!

http://media.centredaily.com/smedia/...filiate.42.jpg

Like the others, I am really enjoying this small town Pennsylvania tour. This town is really cute with pretty houses.

Yet another little PA gem tucked away in the northern hills, kept from prying eyes. Well at least until Eg hit the town. Love this series, look forward to more. Thanks.

Love it. Have I stated that the northern tier is my favorite region of the state overall? Probably. But I'll say it again... This is my favorite part of the state.

Beautiful place. PA's own grittier version of Vermont mountain towns.

it's the availability of Perry's ice cream...
http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/d...porium/085.jpg

Awesome job. Just about every Appalachian town from TN up to NY is beautiful like this.

superb photos. quite a large quantity of large homes given the minuscule population.

Yes, I think it must be the Perry's... and Straub beer.

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Great pictures. I remember your Emporium thread for a few years ago and it's nice to see that you made your way back.

Emporium made me think of a modern-day northern version of Mayberry with it's isolation and potential "small-world"ness where everyone knows everyone. I imageine that people in Emporium talk about going to a bigger place like St. Mary's or Lock Haven, or going to "the big city" like Williamsport, much like Mayberry characters talked so highly of Mount Pilot or Raleigh, and just about anyone else in this country would laugh at their simpleness.

I remember you telling me earlier that some place in Emporium was voted as having the best pizza in the US. Do you know what place this is?

Pizza Palace Plus... not pictured because it's a rather bland newer structure.
http://www.pizzapalaceplus.com/
Never been there... but hope to try it some day.
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Thanks for the quintessentially 80s Perry's advertisement, pj3000.

So many beautiful homes. Small town loveliness. Thanks!

charming. it looks like time's stopped there, but in a good way.

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Such a small population. Amazing. Thanks for the tour.

Tidy and impeccably manicured, for the most part. Nice downtown probably benefits from being a long way from cut-price big box retailers.

Reminds me more of a movie set.
enjoying the tour. Are you taking requests?