Armstrong County, Pennsylvania

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Armstrong County, Pennsylvania
Kittanning Courthouse.jpg
Armstrong County Courthouse
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Armstrong County
Location in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Map of the United States highlighting Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location in the U.S.
Founded March 12, 1800
Named for John Armstrong
Seat Kittanning
Largest borough Kittanning
Area
 • Total 664 sq mi (1,720 km2)
 • Land 653 sq mi (1,691 km2)
 • Water 11 sq mi (28 km2), 1.6%
Population (est.)
 • (2014) 67,785
 • Density 104/sq mi (40/km²)
Congressional district 3rd
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.co.armstrong.pa.us
Footnotes:
Designated October 15, 1982[1]
The Crooked Creek Lake Recreation Area is a dam, reservoir, and park near Ford City in Armstrong County.

Armstrong County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,941.[2] The county seat is Kittanning.[3] The county was organized on March 12, 1800, from parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland and Lycoming Counties. It was named in honor of John Armstrong, who represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress and served as a major general during the Revolutionary War.

Armstrong County is included in the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The County was named after John Armstrong, who served as a brigadier general and major general in the Revolutionary War.

Armstrong County is home to the City of Parker, an incorporated third-class city, which was an oil boom town with a population rumored to be approximately 20,000 in 1873, but now is the "Smallest City in America" with a population of just under 800. Parker is located in the extreme northwest portion of the county.

Iron was made in the Brady's Bend area of the county twenty years before there was a foundry in Pittsburgh doing so. Ford City is home to the plate-glass industry, as John Ford created the company which later became Pittsburgh Plate Glass.

Kittanning once boasted more millionnaires than anywhere else in Pennsylvania during the 1880s.

Leechburg was the first place in the United States to use natural gas for metallurgical purposes, in 1869. Natural gas was found while drilling for oil, and eventually introduced into the boilers and furnaces of Siberian Iron Works here.

Freeport, Leechburg and Apollo were communities built along the Pennsylvania Canal, which passed through on the Allegheny and Kiskiminetas rivers, at the southern border of the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 664 square miles (1,720 km2), of which 653 square miles (1,690 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) (1.6%) is water.[4]

Streams

The Allegheny and Kiskiminetas rivers; Buffalo, Crooked, Cowanshannock, Redbank, and Mahoning creeks; and Carnahan Run, among others, have watersheds within the county. The Murphy, Nicholson, Ross, and Cogley islands are in the Allegheny in Armstrong County.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1800 2,399
1810 6,143 156.1%
1820 10,324 68.1%
1830 17,701 71.5%
1840 28,365 60.2%
1850 29,560 4.2%
1860 35,797 21.1%
1870 43,382 21.2%
1880 47,641 9.8%
1890 46,747 −1.9%
1900 52,551 12.4%
1910 67,880 29.2%
1920 75,568 11.3%
1930 79,298 4.9%
1940 81,087 2.3%
1950 80,842 −0.3%
1960 79,524 −1.6%
1970 75,590 −4.9%
1980 77,768 2.9%
1990 73,478 −5.5%
2000 72,392 −1.5%
2010 68,941 −4.8%
Est. 2014 67,785 [5] −1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2013[2]

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 72,392 people, 29,005 households, and 20,535 families residing in the county. The population density was 111 people per square mile (43/km²). There were 32,387 housing units at an average density of 50 per square mile (19/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.32% White, 0.82% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. 0.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 34.6% were of German, 10.8% Italian, 9.3% Irish, 8.7% American, 7.4% English and 5.7% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 29,005 households out of which 29.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.20% were non-families. 25.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.90% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.10 males.

Armstrong County's live birth rate was 890 births in 1990. Armstrong County's live birth rate in 2000 was 740 births, while in 2011 it had declined further to 680 babies.[11] Over the past 50 years (1960 to 2010), rural Pennsylvania saw a steady decline in both the number and proportion of residents under 18 years old. In 1960, 1.06 million rural residents, or 35 percent of the rural population, were children.

County poverty demographics

According to research by The Center for Rural Pennsylvania, which is a legislative Agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the poverty rate for Armstrong County was 13.8% in 2014.[12] The statewide poverty rate was 13.6% in 2014. The 2012 childhood poverty rate by school district was: Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District - 37.2%, Apollo-Ridge School District - 46.6% living at 185% or below than the Federal Poverty Level, Armstrong School District - 48.9%, Freeport Area School District - 27.7%, and Leechburg Area School District - 39.6.[13]

Government and politics

As of November 2008, there were 45,532 registered voters in Armstrong County.[14]

County government

County Commissioners:

  • David K. Battaglia (Republican), Chairman
  • Robert T. Bower, Vice-Chairman
  • Richard L. Fink, Secretary

District Attorney:

Sheriff:

  • Bill Rupert (Democrat)

Controller:

  • Myra "Tammy" Miller (Republican)

Treasurer:

  • Amanda Hiles

Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds:

  • Marianne Hileman (Republican)

Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts:

  • Brenda C. George (Republican)

Jury Commissioners:

  • Karen Shreckengost (Republican)
  • Patricia Graff Fiorina (Democrat)

Judges:

  • Kenneth G. Valasek, President Judge (Democrat)
  • James Panchik (Democrat)
  • Joseph A. Nickleach, Sr. Judge (Democrat)

State Senate

State House Of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

Education

Map of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts

Colleges and universities

Public school districts

The 498 school districts of Pennsylvania, that have high schools, were ranked for student academic achievement as demonstrated by four years of writing, science math and reading PSSA results by the Pittsburgh Business Times in 2010.

Technology school

  • Lenape Technology School - Ford City

Private schools

As reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Education - EdNA. April 2012.

  • Adelphoi Village Miller Home - Apollo
  • Divine Redeemer School - Ford City
  • Dry Knob Amish School - Smicksburg
  • Evangelical Lutheran School - Worthington
  • Grace Christian School - Kittanning
  • Meadow View School - Dayton
  • Model Education Program - Kittanning
  • New Bethlehem Wesleyan Methodist School - New Bethlehem
  • Orchard Hills Christian Academy - Apollo
  • Owl Hollow Amish School - Smicksburg
  • Shady Lane Amish School - Smicksburg
  • Shady Run Amish School - Smicksburg
  • Stony Acres Amish School - Smicksburg
  • Stony Flat Amish School - Smicksburg
  • United Cerebral Palsy Of Western Pennsylvania - Spring Church
  • Whippoorwill School - Smicksburg
  • Worthington Baptist Christian School - Worthington

Libraries

There are six public libraries in Armstrong County:[15][16]

  • Apollo Memorial Library - Apollo, PA
  • Ford City Public Library - Ford City, PA
  • Freeport Area Library - Freeport, PA
  • Kittanning Public Library - Kittanning, PA
  • Leechburg Public Library - Leechburg, PA
  • Worthington West Franklin Community Library - Worthington, PA

Communities

Map of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Cities and Boroughs (red), Townships (white), and Census-designated places (blue).

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Armstrong County:

City

Boroughs

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Townships

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Census-designated places

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

Former community

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Armstrong County.[17]

county seat

Rank City/Town/etc. Population (2010 Census) Municipal type Incorporated
1 Kittanning 4,044 Borough 1803
2 Ford City 2,991 Borough 1889
3 Leechburg 2,156 Borough 1850
4 Orchard Hills 1,952 CDP
5 Freeport 1,813 Borough 1833
6 Apollo 1,647 Borough 1848
7 North Apollo 1,297 Borough
8 West Hills 1,263 CDP
9 West Kittanning 1,175 Borough 1900
10 Lenape Heights 1,167 CDP
11 Rural Valley 876 Borough
12 Parker 840 City 1873
13 Pleasant View 780 CDP
14 Worthington 639 Borough 1855
15 Dayton 553 Borough 1873
16 South Bethlehem 481 Borough
17 North Vandergrift 447 CDP
18 Manorville 410 Borough
19 Ford Cliff 371 Borough 1922
20 Elderton 356 Borough 1859
21 Templeton 325 CDP
22 Applewold 310 Borough 1899
23 Kiskimere 136 CDP
24 Atwood 107 Borough 1884

See also

References

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  11. Pennsylvania Department of Health, Birth Age County Reports 1990 and 2011, 2011
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  14. Running for Office. Dos.state.pa.us. Retrieved on 2013-07-23.
  15. Armstrong Libraries. Armstrong Libraries. Retrieved on 2013-07-23.
  16. Freeport Area Library Association - Home. Freeportlibrary.org (2013-07-12). Retrieved on 2013-07-23.
  17. http://www.census.gov/2010census/

External links

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