Did You Know?
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There are many interesting facts about Kittanning. The Kittanning Leader Times ran a special edition on April 27, 2004 and called it simply, "Did You Know...". Some of the information on our page is taken directly from that edition of the Leader Times and is republished here with permission. Additional "facts" have been provided by classmates or gleaned from other sources.

Most people don't know that .....

• In the 1860s, Kittanning was a college town with the University of Kittanning and Lambeth College within its boundaries. It was said that Kittanning supported a "totally rich university environment," during that time.

• Armstrong County is named after Colonel John Armstrong and was formed on March 12, 1800 from 660 square miles of land obtained from Allegheny, Lycoming and Westmoreland Counties. Lt. Col. Armstrong led a raid against the Indians at Kittanning on September 8, 1756. For additional information on the raid click here.

• Blanket Hill is known by that name because of the blankets left behind by part of Lt. Col. Armstrong's raiding party. For additional information on Blanket Hill click here.

• It cost under $150 to start up Kittanning's first fire company.

• A cargo tanker in World War II was named the USS Kittanning.

• A Union gunboat in the Civil War was named the USS Kittanning.

• There are fresh water jellyfish in the ponds and lakes of Armstrong County. They were first discovered in the County in the late 1800s.

• There is gold in them thar' hills. Yes, gold can be found in Armstrong County. The first gold was discovered at Garretts Run before the Civil War.

• There are about 65 bridges in Armstrong County.

• Adolph Hitler's great-great uncle, Johann Georg Hiedler, settled in Kittanning Township in the late 1700s or early 1800s.

• On August 1, 1899, Kittanning's electric street lights were turned on for the first time.

• Depending upon which reference material you use, Kittanning is a word of Indian origin derived from Kithanne, meaning "the main stream," or, "place of the largest stream," or, "meeting place."

• Kittanning was once the location of one of the largest Indian villages in Western Pennsylvania from 1730 to 1756.

• Kittanning was abandoned from 1756 until 1776 when Fort Appleby (later Fort Armstrong) was built.

• Fort Armstrong was abandoned in November 1779.

• Kittanning was laid out in 1803 by Judge George Ross and it became a borough in 1821.

• Original Kittanning streets were Water, Jefferson, McKean and Back (changed in 1868 to Grant), which were intersected by High, Vine, Arch, Market, Jacob, Mulberry and Walnut streets.

• The chain ferry established in 1834 was succeeded in 1586 by a wooden bridge, which was blown down on May 12, 1835. A second wooden bridge was immediately built and lasted until 1874, when it was replaced by an iron bridge at a cost of $60,000.

• Between eleven and twelve o’clock Sunday night, March 9, 1828, Kittanning experienced a lively earthquake shock which lasted about two minutes.

• The first school was opened in Kittanning in 1805 by Adam Elliott.