The merger proposal was taken to residents in the 1997 election, passing in Spangler 410-243 and in Barnesboro 466-324.

The presence of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River allowed loggers to move their harvest downstream.

The mining companies required skilled workers, and many came from Great Britain and Eastern Europe.

Railroads were built to transport the coal out, and the town flourished with the influx of money.

[6] A pumpkin weighing 1,469 pounds (666 kg) was grown by resident Larry Checkon in 2005 (a world record at that time).

According to the United States Census Bureau, Northern Cambria has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.7 km2), all land.

Some students in grades 9-12 attend the private Bishop Carroll High School in Ebensburg.

Nearby colleges include Mount Aloysius College (Cresson), Saint Francis University (Loretto), Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Indiana), the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Penn State Altoona, and Pennsylvania Highlands Community College (near Johnstown).

Three daily newspapers cover the Northern Cambria borough: the Altoona Mirror, the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, and the Indiana Gazette.