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Welcome to Downey ...

Downey is located in Somerset County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Downey, you might consider that their post office opened in 1885.

Downey is 2,340 feet [713 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the altitude of Downey is about ½ mile above sea level.

Time Zone: Downey lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Downey: 814 & 582<3>

Communities Also Named Downey ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 5 communities that are also named Downey - they are located in California, Idaho, Illinois (2) and Iowa.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Downey.

Communities near Downey ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Downey.

  • Somerset
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Windber
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Meyersdale
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Berlin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Boswell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Central City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Paint
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Paint is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
  • Hyndman
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Rockwood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Scalp Level
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Downey. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Downey.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Downey. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Downey.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Downey. See our Newspapers Page for Downey.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Downey ...

Looking for more information about Downey? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Downey, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Downey.

Adding Downey to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Downey in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Downey was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Downey post office opened in 1885. The Downey post office closed in 1907.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Downey.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties, including Somerset, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Downey - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 814 code has been Overlayed with the 582 area code. New phone numbers in the Downey area will be assigned with one of these codes: 814 or 582. As a result, placing a call in the Downey area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/