Knox, Pennsylvania

Knox is a borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,102 at the 2020 census. The designated tourism agency for Clarion County is Discover Clarion County

Geography
Knox is located northwest of the center of Clarion County at 41.23528°N, -79.53611°W (41.235317, -79.536123). Pennsylvania Route 208 passes through the center of the borough, leading east 4 mi to U.S. Route 322 at Shippenville, PA and west 11 mi to Emlenton, PA. Pennsylvania Route 338 runs through the eastern side of Knox as a two-lane bypass; it leads north 4 mi to US 322 and south four miles to Interstate 80. Clarion, the county seat, is 9 mi to the east via Shippenville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Knox has a total area of 1.47 km2, of which 0.01 sqkm, or 0.68%, is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,176 people, 528 households, and 337 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,056.0 PD/sqmi. There were 570 housing units at an average density of 996.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the borough was 98.98% White, 0.60% Native American, 0.17% Asian, and 0.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.85% of the population.

There were 528 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $32,407, and the median income for a family was $37,431. Males had a median income of $31,908 versus $18,603 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,043. About 12.2% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

Leadership
Knox Borough is governed by an elected seven-member council including:


 * Mayor: Rich Cochran
 * President: Jack Bish Jr.
 * Vice President: William (Bill) Henry
 * Pro Tem: Linda Runyan
 * Counselors: Danielle Fye, Grace Minick, Melissa Pierce & Brandon Thompson

Notable Person

 * Ross A. McGinnis, a 19-year-old Knox native, killed in action in Iraq on December 4, 2006, and awarded the Medal of Honor.

Horsethief Days Festival
Knox is known locally as "The Horsethief Capital of the World", due to it's annual Horsethief Days festival in the last week of August.

History
Horsethief Days began when Sebastian (Boss) Buck started stealing horses and changing them, in order to resell them without the original owners knowing they were their horses. He would sell them in the South along with other members of his crew who sold them in the North. Boss didn't have much of an education, but even so he was the mastermind behind the Horsethief operation.

His Horsethieving business was mostly unchecked because people weren't aware he was doing it, so it was like a free money vacation for him. He had other members of his clan in the south steal horses and bring them to Clarion County. The reason he was in Clarion County was because the county was the head quarters, the “Horsethief Capital”. Boss never worked alone. He never stole a horse by himself;  he had other people with him. When the police found out about this, they went and got a warrant for his arrest. He went into hiding for a while and after they gave up on him, he came out and started stealing horses and making fake money again. He was the top criminal of the United States of America at one point until finally he got caught and was arrested. After release from jail, he lived a normal life and never stole a horse again. The Horsethief Days festival is in remembrance of this critical part of the county's history.

Events
Horsethief Days has many different events year-to-year, but most commonly seen are the antique car show, yard sales, bike races, tractor / lawn mower races, live music (most nights), and the Horsethief Days Parade on the final day of the festival.