Perry County, Pennsylvania

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Perry County, Pennsylvania
Saville PA C Bridge 2.JPG
Saville Covered Bridge in Saville Township
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Perry 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 22, 1820
Named for Oliver Hazard Perry
Seat New Bloomfield
Largest borough Marysville
Area
 • Total 556 sq mi (1,440 km2)
 • Land 551 sq mi (1,427 km2)
 • Water 4.1 sq mi (11 km2), 0.7%
Population (est.)
 • (2014) 45,634
 • Density 83/sq mi (32/km²)
Congressional districts 10th, 11th
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.perryco.org

Perry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,969.[1] The county seat is New Bloomfield.[2] The county was created on March 22, 1820, and was named after Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the War of 1812 who had recently died.[3] It was originally part of Cumberland County and was created in part because residents did not want to travel over the mountain to Carlisle (the county seat of Cumberland County).

Perry County is included in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In 2010, the center of population of Pennsylvania was located in the eastern end of Perry County.[4] Green Park, an incorporated village located in northeastern Tyrone Township, serves as Perry County’s midpoint between the Conococheague Mountain in the west and the Susquehanna River to the east.[5]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 556 square miles (1,440 km2), of which 551 square miles (1,430 km2) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km2) (0.7%) is water.[6]

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1820 11,342
1830 14,261 25.7%
1840 17,096 19.9%
1850 20,088 17.5%
1860 22,793 13.5%
1870 25,447 11.6%
1880 27,522 8.2%
1890 26,276 −4.5%
1900 26,263 0.0%
1910 24,136 −8.1%
1920 22,875 −5.2%
1930 21,744 −4.9%
1940 23,213 6.8%
1950 24,782 6.8%
1960 26,582 7.3%
1970 28,615 7.6%
1980 35,718 24.8%
1990 41,172 15.3%
2000 43,609 5.9%
2010 45,969 5.4%
Est. 2014 45,634 [7] −0.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]
1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10]
1990-2000[11] 2010-2013[1]

As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 43,602 people, 16,695 households, and 12,320 families residing in the county. The population density was 79 people per square mile (30/km²). There were 18,941 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.54% White, 0.43% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.69% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 45.8% were of German, 16.4% American, 7.8% Irish and 5.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.8% spoke English and 1.2% Spanish as their first language.

There were 16,695 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.01. There is also a high population of Amish.

In Perry County, the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

Perry County's live birth rate was 609 births in 1990. The County's live birth rate in 2000 had declined sharply to 511 births, while in 2011 it was 555 babies.[13] 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 Perry County was 8.7% in 2014.[14] The statewide poverty rate was 13.6% in 2014. The 2012 childhood poverty rate by school district was: Greenwood School District - 25.6% living at 185% or below than the Federal Poverty Level, Newport School District - 45.1%, Susquenita School District - 34.1% and West Perry School District - 37.6%.[15]

Metropolitan Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget[16] has designated Perry County as the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 U.S. Census[17] the metropolitan area ranked 6th most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 96th most populous in the United States with a population of 549,475. Perry County is also a part of the larger Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which combines the populations of Perry County as well as Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon and York Counties in Pennsylvania. The Combined Statistical Area ranked 5th in the State of Pennsylvania and 43rd most populous in the United States with a population of 1,219,422.

Government

County Commissioners

  • Brenda Benner, Chair (R)
  • Stephen C. Naylor, Vice Chair
  • Paul Rudy, Secretary (R)

Politics

Perry County is one of the most Republican counties in Pennsylvania. In 2004, George W. Bush received 13,919 votes (72%) to 5,423 votes (28%) for John Kerry. The county has voted for the Republican in every presidential election since 1964. In 2006, Lynn Swann received 9,998 votes (69%) to 4,477 votes (31%) for Ed Rendell, making it Swann's strongest county in his defeat. Rick Santorum also received more than 60% of the Perry County vote in his defeat.

Education

Map of Perry County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts

Public School Districts

Intermediate unit

The Capital Area Intermediate Unit 15 is a state approved education agency that offers: Perry County school districts, charter schools, private schools, and home school students, a variety of services including: a completely developed K-12 curriculum that is mapped and aligned with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards (available online), shared services, a joint purchasing program and a wide variety of special education and special needs services.

Private schools

As reported on EdNA (ED Names and Addresses) by the Pennsylvania Department of Education

  • Blue Goose Children's Learning Center, Inc - Newport
  • Carson Long Military Institute
  • Clarks Run Parochial School - Blain
  • Community Christian Academy - Newport
  • Farm Lane School - Ickesburg
  • Fowlers Hollow School - Blain
  • Heritage Christian School - West Perry
  • Honeysuckle Ridge School - Elliotsburg
  • Kuddly Bear Child Care Center Inc. - Duncannon
  • Loysville Youth Development Center - Loysville
  • Manassa School - Blain
  • Messiah Day Care Center - Elliottsburg
  • Mountain View Parochial School - Ickesburg
  • Perry View Parochial School - Landisburg
  • Raccoon Valley Amish School - Millerstown
  • Shermans View School - Loysville
  • Stony Point School - Loysville
  • Sunset Valley School - Millerstown

Trade schools

  • Central Pennsylvania Diesel Institute - Liverpool

Public Libraries

  • New Bloomfield Public Library
  • Community Library of Western Perry County
  • Marysville-Rye Public Library
  • Newport Public Library

[18]

Media

Newspapers

The county is home to four weekly newspapers, three published by Advance Publications of Perry and Juniata Counties, Inc. associated with The Patriot-News of Harrisburg: Duncannon Record, The News-Sun and Perry County Times and the separate Perry County Weekly published by The Sentinel in Carlisle, Cumberland County, by Lee Enterprises of Davenport, Iowa [3].[19]

Communities

Map of Perry County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Boroughs (red) and Townships (white).

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

Boroughs

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Townships

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Unincorporated area

See also

References

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  3. Early History of Perry County
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  13. Pennsylvania Department of Health, Birth Age County Reports 1990 and 2011, 2011
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  16. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb
  17. http://www.census.gov/2010census/
  18. Perry County Technology Resource Sharing
  19. [1] Perry County Times and [2]

External links

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