Case Notes

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Town file

Cochranton, Pennsylvania

Cochranton, Pennsylvania (Crawford County, Pennsylvania) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 316, "Writing A Murder Journal" (8 September 2022). Brandy Stevens was nineteen years old in May 2012.

Town
Cochranton
County
Crawford County
State
Pennsylvania
Country
USA
Episodes
316
Approximate location
41.519, -80.047
N ↑Public placePublic placePublic placePublic placePublic placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Episode 316 / 8 September 2022 / 163 min / full

Writing A Murder Journal

""On up to PA here, uh northwestern Pennsylvania, Cockrington PA is where we are going to" and "This is in Crawford County, area code 814"" about 0:05:12

The case: Murder of Brandy Stevens (May 17, 2012). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2022

Population
1,063
Median age
right at average
Median household income
about $53,000 a year
Median home value
$122,400
Two-bedroom rent
about $754
Cost of living
77
Religious
44%
Property crime
about 20% of the national average
Violent crime
▼ about one quarter of the national average

History, in brief

  • The borough was formed from original land grants made to John Adams, the president, and to Thomas Cochran, after whom the village is named rather than the president. about 0:06:07
  • It was surveyed by Cochran's son Joseph, who was the first school teacher in the town in the 1850s. about 0:06:29
  • In the 1870s the town grew to about 800 people; it gained a local newspaper and an agricultural fair and installed a water system and a natural gas system, replacing wooden sidewalks with concrete and brick. about 0:06:29
  • Meadville was home to the Talon Company, which made zippers and was the most crucial industry in the area. about 0:07:10
  • Talon was bought by Textron Industries in 1968 and the operation eventually moved to Taiwan and went bankrupt. about 0:07:41
  • Meadville became known as Tool City as tool and die shops opened there. about 0:07:51
  • In 1886 a local blacksmith began hand-forging tools and selling them from the back of a wagon; the business became the Champion Bolt and Clipper Company and in 1904 became Channellock. about 0:08:22
  • The actress Sharon Stone is from Meadville. about 0:09:04

The reviews read out

5 stars

"A lovely rural farming community where the people are very pleasant and helpful and it is a wonderful place to live."
about 0:09:35

3 stars

"A small average town mostly made up of elderly people; nice but the buildings and lots are overgrown and old and need updating."
about 0:09:57

3 stars

"Lived there all their life and is disgusted by the young adults, who show little respect; the roads are bad and there is little to do, so they are glad to be leaving."
about 0:10:24

2 stars

"A very strange vibe full of clichés, poverty and decline, with tweakers, reckless drivers, a pet food plant smell, and Allegheny College dominating the town."
about 0:11:32

1 star

"Drugs everywhere, wages that do not cover the cost of living, terrible schools with drugs and bullying, and dive bars along the walk to school."
about 0:13:24

Open the episode file

Nearest Small Town Murder towns

Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.