Duncansville Turned 130 Years Old on March 4

March 4 marked Duncansville's 130th anniversary as a borough.

It all started around 1830 when Samuel Duncan settled on land on the western banks of the stream which cut through the area. He named the town Duncansville. Around the same time, Jacob Walters settled on the eastern side of the stream and named his settlement Walterstown.

Eventually, the two settlements decided that it would be mutually beneficial to merge. A big celebration was held, where the locals came out and assembled on the bridge that separated the two towns. Legend has it that they flipped a coin and it ended up favoring Duncan, uniting the two towns under the name of Duncansville, which remained part of Allegheny Township until its incorporation on March 4, 1891.

The area was once also part of Frankstown Township. The first structure was actually built in the area in 1802 by Francis Smith, who also built the first tannery in 1810. William Gibboney built a woolen mill in 1828.

John Blair, for whom Blair County was named, was the first postmaster at the original post office, which was built in 1819.

The Mountain House was built in the late 1820s at the Wye Switches as a hotel for guests traveling. Andrew Carnegie lived at the hotel for a short period of time as a telegraph operator and later station master of the Duncansville Pennsylvania Railroad station.

On Sept. 16, 1850, the first railroad passenger car traveled through the Wye Switches.

The Duncansville School District was formed on April 21, 1891, and the Duncansville Fire Department was chartered on Jan. 24, 1895.

According to the borough website, construction began on the water reservoir in Maple Hollow and on the water transmission lines to Duncansville in 1898. The system was completed and water turned on to the town on Nov. 1, 1902. The reservoir was abandoned in the early 1990s and the water that is now used comes from wells.

Joshua Juda, president of Historic Hollidaysburg, Inc., said that there was also a roller mill and nail factory that operated in the area from the 1840s to 1903. He said that the Edison Electric Illuminating Co. brought electricity to the town in 1907.

In 1912, the borough passed an ordinance requiring sidewalks to be paved.

In 1920, a concrete highway was constructed that passed through the borough's Market Street, which is now known as Third Avenue.

The original Altoona airport was located four miles southwest of Duncansville. It was also known as the Altoona-Duncansville airport. The exact date of construction is unknown.

It was considered a commercial municipal airport and was on a 90-acre irregular grass property with a hangar on the northeast corner and an airport circle marking. It had a "clay sand and sod" all-way landing area.

It also had some fancy artwork on the surface of the field that included the airport name. The airport was owned and operated by private interests. Today, I-99 cuts through the northeast corner of the field over the site of the former hangar.

Some time between 1958 and 1967, a model aircraft runway was constructed on the site. The site is currently operated by the Altoona Radio Control Club and is located south of the intersection of State Route 22 and Runway Lane.

Juda said that on Nov. 5, 1935, Duncansville voted for temperance, not allowing the sale of alcohol. To this day, the borough remains dry.

According to the borough website, Duncansville Memorial Park's ground-breaking ceremonies were held July 21, 1980. A week-long celebration was held in 1981 commemorating the 150th anniversary of the founding of Duncansville and the famous coin toss event of 1831. The event was so successful that it has continued annually as Duncansville Community Days.

This year's event is scheduled for July 11 to July 17.