North East Area Services

North East is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States, 14 miles (23 km) northeast of Erie. Located in the county’s northeastern corner, the name comes from the geographical location. The population was 4,114 at the 2020 census, down from 4,294 in 2010. Fruit growing was an early economic endeavor, and is still to this day, as this is a popular area especially for cherries and grapes. There is an annual Cherry Festival in the summer and an annual Wine Country Harvest Festival in autumn. It is part of the Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the northernmost town in Pennsylvania. 

In 1798 the first school was formed. In 1800 a road from the village of North East to Wattsburg was opened, it paralleled, but ran east of, the first one from Freeport. In 1801 the first church was organized, it was Presbyterian. Its first high school, Lake Shore Seminary, was established in 1870 as a collaborative effort of the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches. In 1884, a fire destroyed two-thirds of the town’s business district. In 1983, Short’s Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1990 the entire old central business district was added to the register.

North East is located in northeastern Erie County and it is surrounded by North East Township. According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), all land. As of the census of 2000, there were 4,601 people, 1,730 households, and 1,162 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,515.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,357.3/km2). There were 1,795 housing units at an average density of 1,371.5 per square mile (529.5/km2).