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See Also:
Carrolltown - BUSINESSES
Carrolltown - RESOURCES
Carrolltown - CHURCHES
Carrolltown - SCHOOLS

Carrolltown

The name Carrolltown was chosen by the Prince-Priest Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, in honor of the first U.S. Bishop, a Jesuit named Father John Carroll. The land for the borough was purchased by Father Peter Henry Lemke in 1840. It was part of the Curtis Clay Tract. Lemke had been placed in charge of St. Patrick's Church in Ebensburg and St. Joseph's in Hart's Sleeping Place just 2 miles northeast of present day Carrolltown. A church was built on the site in 1850 and named in honor of St. Benedict.

In 1858 Carrolltown was merged with Cambelltown, which occupied the northern part of the current borough. The first municipal elections were held in April of that year.

In 1865 a Benedictine Monastery was built, and five years later the Saint Benedict School was opened, with classes being held in the church basement until a school building could be contructed.

The first official fire protection service was chartered in 1894 as the Carrolltown Volunteer Fire Engine Company, although a volunteer brigade had been established as early as 1860, and in 1884 the first pumper (hand operated) had been purchased. In 1907 a horse-drawn pumper with gasoline pump was purchased, and in 1923 the first gasoline driven fire engine. The fire service has continued to modernize and expand down to the current time.

From its start Carrolltown was primarily a farming community, though it also provided services and goods, and a place of residence for coal miners who worked in the surrounding area.

At an elevation of 2,060 feet, Carrolltown had a population of 1,049 in the 2000 census. That census shows the population is 99.6% White Non-Hispanic, with 45.4% of German descent, 24.1% Irish, 12.1% Polish, 10.2% Italian, 9.6% Slovak, and 7.1% English (these add up to over 100% because many people are of mixed ancestry).