Blood, Trauma, and Biohazard Cleanup in Catawissa, PA

Catawissa is a borough in Columbia County on the southeast bank of the Susquehanna River, right where Catawissa Creek flows into the river; its nickname is 'Home of a Covered Bridge.'

Catawissa's name derives from a Native American word, 'Catawese,' meaning 'pure water.'

Catawissa's land was originally owned by William Henry in 1769, Moses Roberts built the first house in the vicinity in 1774, and English Quakers from Maidencreek and Exeter in Berks County were among its first settlers.

Catawissa was laid out in 1787 by William Hughes and at first called 'Hughesburg' or 'Catawissey,' with its town lots handed out by lottery.

Catawissa built its first school in 1800, founded the Catawissa Fire Company in 1827, and chartered the Catawissa Deposit Bank in 1871.

Catawissa was not incorporated as a borough until 1892, more than a century after the town was laid out.

Catawissa's population peaked at 2,053 in 1940; it had 1,536 residents at the 2020 census, and in 2000 it counted 1,589 people in 710 households.

The Catawissa Friends Meetinghouse, a reminder of the borough's Quaker roots, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Catawissa is twinned with Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada — the link goes back to 1805, when Dr. Christopher Beswick, who had lived in Catawissa, received the Crown grant for the Uxbridge area.

Catawissa was the birthplace of Samuel Lount, who became a leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion and was hanged for his part in it.