24/7 Trauma and Biohazard Cleanup in Ganister, PA

Ganister is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in the northwestern part of Woodbury Township in eastern Blair County, at the foot of Lock Mountain along the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River, and it was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census.

Ganister had only 11 residents in the 2020 census, spread across just 0.015 square miles — a population density of about 784 people per square mile in one of Pennsylvania's smallest census places.

The earliest history of Ganister is found under the name Franklin Forge: Samuel Royer built his iron forge at the confluence of Piney Creek and the Frankstown Branch here in 1829, and the site later grew into a quarry town.

Ganister's growth came from quarrying — the Pittsburgh Limestone Company leased land at Ganister for its quarrying operations in 1896, the Saint Clair Limestone Company worked a nearby quarry, and the surrounding ridges were also quarried for ganister, the hard quartzose sandstone used to make silica brick for lining furnaces.

A limestone quarry in Ganister is still in operation today and is owned by Grannas Brothers, Inc.

Ganister had its own post office, which opened in 1883 and closed in 1979; today the community uses the Williamsburg ZIP Code 16693.

Ganister is bordered to the north by the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River and to the west by Piney Creek, and Pennsylvania Route 866 along its northeastern edge leads 2 miles southeast to Williamsburg and 2 miles northwest through the Lock Mountain and Short Mountain water gap to U.S. Route 22 near Point View.

St. Mary's Holy Assumption Orthodox Church, built when quarry work drew immigrant families to Ganister, held its final service on November 14, 2010, after its congregation shrank from a few hundred worshippers at its peak to just six.

Ganister sits at an elevation of 876 feet and is served by the Williamsburg Community School District.