Perry County, Pennsylvania

Infobox U.S. County
county = Perry County
state = Pennsylvania




map size = 225
founded = March 22, 1820
seat = New Bloomfield | largest city = Marysville
area_total_sq_mi =556
area_water_sq_mi =2
area percentage = 0.40%
census yr = 2000
pop = 43602
density_km2 =30
web = www.perryco.org
|

Perry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of four counties comprising the greater Harrisburg metropolitan area. As of 2004, the population is 44,652. The center of population of Pennsylvania is located in Perry County, in the borough of Duncannon [http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt] .

Perry County was part of Cumberland County. Perry County was formed at least in part because residents did not want to travel over the mountain to Carlisle (the county seat of Cumberland County). Perry County's county seat is New BloomfieldGR|6. It was created on March 22, 1820, and was named after Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the War of 1812, who had recently died. As of August 2005, it was one of only two counties in Pennsylvania without a permanent traffic light. However since that date, a traffic light has been approved for the Marysville and may be in place by 2009.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 556 square miles (1,439 km²), of which, 554 square miles (1,434 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (6 km²) of it (0.40%) is water.

Adjacent counties

*Juniata County (north)
*Northumberland County (northeast)
*Dauphin County (east)
*Cumberland County (south)
*Franklin County (southwest)

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 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 the 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.

Accent and dialect

The dominant speech pattern in Perry County is the Central Pennsylvania accent.

Folklore and Popular Culture

Shermans Dale is the possible site of the "Bright Sherman Valley", an alternative name for the folk song Red River Valley.Hunting season is the county's most popular holiday in which most residents and tourist hunt for white tailed deer.
It is believed some residents of the county are so remote they travel a hour one way to reach any major shopping centers. There currently are no traffic signals (stoplights) in Perry county.

Municipalities

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

Boroughs

Townships

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

Public School Districts

* Fannett-Metal School District
* Greenwood School District
* Newport School District
* Susquenita School District
* West Perry School District

References

External links

* [http://www.perryco.org/ Perry County] (official website)