Elim, PA

Elim is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Upper Yoder Township, just west of Johnstown. Its 3,364 residents in the 2020 census live on heights more than 500 feet above the Stonycreek River, with Westmont and Southmont to the north and Ferndale and Johnstown to the east. That elevation gives Elim a hillside position over the Johnstown valley, and St. Clement Church is one of the familiar landmarks along the community roads. The place is tied to Johnstown by geography even though it sits in a separate township.

The road network leads down toward the Johnstown area, where the Stonycreek corridor has become a recreation destination as well as a river valley. Stonycreek Whitewater Park occupies a 300-yard section beside the 11-acre Greenhouse Park, with paddling, tubing, and picnicking along the water. Elim's setting is therefore a mix of hillside neighborhoods, a nearby city valley, and access to one of the region's distinctive river facilities. The result is a place that reads as part of greater Johnstown while retaining Upper Yoder's separate township identity.