Eldred, PA

Eldred is a borough in northeastern McKean County, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny River valley less than three miles south of New York. The community was settled in 1815, named for Judge Nathaniel B. Eldred, and incorporated as a borough in 1880. Pennsylvania Route 446 runs through as Main Street, while the river bends around the borough and continues north toward the state line. The 2020 census counted 765 residents.

Eldred's most distinctive local chapter came during World War II. A munitions plant in the Eldred area produced mortar, fuses, and over eight million bombs from January 1942 through May 1945, with roughly 1,500 people working around the clock. The Eldred World War II Museum opened on Memorial Day 1996 at 201 Main Street and now includes three floors of exhibits plus the Robert A. Anderson Library, whose collection exceeds 8,500 volumes. Otto-Eldred School District serves students from preschool through twelfth grade in Eldred, Duke Center, and Rixford. The borough's river valley, school district, and museum keep a small place tied to a surprisingly large wartime story.