Erie County, Pennsylvania

Erie County, Pennsylvania
Erie County Courthouse
Flag
Location in the state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 12, 1800 (1800-03-12)
Seat	Erie
Largest city	Erie
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,558 sq mi (4,035 km²) 798.9 sq mi (2,069 km²) 759.1 sq mi (1,966 km²), 48.7%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	280,566 351.2/sq mi (136/km²)
Website	www.eriecountygov.org

Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 280,566. Its county seat is the City of Erie.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,558 square miles (4,035.2 km²), the largest county in Pennsylvania, of which 798.9 square miles (2,069 km²) is land and 759.1 square miles (1,966 km²) (48.7%) is water. There are only two cities in Erie County: the City of Erie and the City of Corry.

Erie County is bordered on the northeast by Chautauqua County, New York, on the east by Warren County, on the south by Crawford County, and on the west by Ashtabula County, Ohio. Directly north of the county is Lake Erie, with the nearest landmass beyond it being the province of Ontario, Canada.

It is the only county in the state north of the 42nd parallel.

History

Erie County was established on March 12, 1800 from part of Allegheny County, which absorbed the lands of the disputed Erie Triangle in 1792. Prior to 1792, the region was claimed by both New York and Pennsylvania, so no county demarcations were made until the federal government intervened. See interactive Pennsylvania County Formation Maps

Since Erie County and its newly-established neighboring counties of Crawford, Mercer, Venango, and Warren were initially unable to sustain themselves, a five-county administrative organization was established at Crawford County's Meadville to temporarily manage government affairs in the region. Erie elected its own county officials in 1803.^[1]

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1800	1,468		—
1810	3,758		156.0%
1820	8,553		127.6%
1830	17,041		99.2%
1840	31,344		83.9%
1850	38,742		23.6%
1860	49,432		27.6%
1870	65,973		33.5%
1880	74,688		13.2%
1890	86,074		15.2%
1900	98,473		14.4%
1910	115,517		17.3%
1920	153,536		32.9%
1930	175,277		14.2%
1940	180,889		3.2%
1950	219,388		21.3%
1960	250,682		14.3%
1970	263,654		5.2%
1980	279,780		6.1%
1990	275,572		−1.5%
2000	280,845		1.9%
2010	280,566		−0.1%
United States Census Bureau

According to the 2010 United States Census, there were 280,566 people, 110,413 households, and 70,196 families residing in the county. The population density was 351.2 inhabitants per square mile (135.6 /km²). There were 119,138 housing units at an average density of 149.1 per square mile (57.6 /km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.2 percent White, 7.2 percent Black or African American, 0.2 percent Native American, 1.1 percent Asian, 0.03 percent Pacific Islander, 1.2 percent from other races, and 2.1 percent from two or more races. A further 3.4 percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.4% were of German, 12.5% Polish, 12.3% Italian, 10.1% Irish, 6.5% English and 6.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

Of the total number of household, 27.2 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4 percent were married couples living together, 13.2 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4 percent were non-families. 29.3 percent of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.5 percent under the age of 20. The median age was 38.6 years. For every 100 females there were 96.73 males.

Government and politics

The county seat of government is in Erie, Pennsylvania. The county has a home-rule charter and is run by a county executive. The current County Executive is Barry Grossman. Grossman assumed the office in January 2010 after ousting incumbent Mark DiVecchio in the 2009 Democratic primary and narrowly defeating Republican Mike Kerner. The remaining elected officials of the executive branch are the Erie County Controller, Erie County Coroner, Erie County District Attorney, Erie County Sheriff, and Erie County Clerk. see latest list

The County Executive appoints a chief public defender to the Erie County Public Defender's Office ^[2] and members of a Criminal Justice Advisory Board.^[3]

Erie County Department of Public Safety and the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) relocated to a new public safety building located near the Erie County Vocational Technical School in Summit Township in January 2008. 9-1-1 dispatcher and HAZMAT operations will be based at the new facility. Seven new communications towers and backup power generation will be features of the new reinforced concrete building, which will be able to withstand a Category F3 tornado. Erie County Department of Corrections operates the Erie County Prison, which is located on Ash Street between East 18th Street and the railroad tracks in Erie.

Erie County Executives

Name	Party	Term start	Term end
Russell Robison	Republican	1978	1982
Judith M. Lynch	Democrat	1982	2002
Richard Schenker	Republican	2002	2006
Mark A. DiVecchio	Democrat	2006	2010
Barry Grossman	Democrat	2010	Incumbent

County legislature

The legislature consists of a county council. The Erie County Council is made up of seven councilmen elected to represent seven geographical districts. see map A chairman and vice chairman are chosen among the councilmen to lead the council.

• Phil Fatica, Democrat (District 1 - west city)
• Joseph F. Giles, Democrat (Vice Chairman, District 2 - city lakefront)
• Fiore Leone, Democrat (Chairman, District 3 - south central city)
• Ronald Cleaver, Democrat (also known as Whitey Cleaver) (District 4 - southeast city)
• Kyle W. Foust, Democrat (District 5 - northeast suburbs)
• Ebert Beeman, Republican (District 6 - southeast suburbs)
• Carol J. Loll, Republican (District 7 - west suburbs).

Judiciary

The judiciary is made up of nine judges serving the Erie County Court of Common Pleas and fifteen magisterial district judges serve the district courts. Court administration is managed by a district court administrator, deputy court administrator, and assistant court administrator. The Erie County Courthouse is located near Perry Square in downtown Erie.

Row officers

• Clerk of Records, Pat Fetzner, Democrat
• Controller, Mary E. Schaaf, Republican
• Coroner, Lyell Cook, Republican
• District Attorney, Jack Daneri, Republican (Was appointed following the death of Brad Foulk in 2009)
• Sheriff, Bob Merski, Democrat

Politics

As of November 2008, there are 185,081 registered voters in Erie County [1].

• Democratic: 102,061 (55.14%)
• Republican: 62,861 (33.96%)
• Other parties: 20,159 (10.89%)

Erie County tends to be Democratic-leaning in statewide elections, with all four statewide winners carrying it in 2008. The margins of victory for the Democratic Presidential candidate in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 elections in Erie County were 9, 8, and 20 percentage points, respectively.

Pennsylvania State Senate

• Mary Jo White (R), Pennsylvania's 21st Senatorial District
• Jane M. Earll (R), Pennsylvania's 49th Senatorial District

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

• Patrick J. Harkins (D), Pennsylvania's 1st Representative District
• Florindo J. Fabrizio (D), Pennsylvania's 2nd Representative District
• John Hornaman (D), Pennsylvania's 3rd Representative District
• Curtis G. Sonney (R), Pennsylvania's 4th Representative District
• John R. Evans (R), Pennsylvania's 5th Representative District

United States House of Representatives

• Mike Kelly (R), Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district

Municipalities

Map of Erie 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 Erie County:

Cities

• Corry
• Erie

Boroughs

Albion Cranesville Edinboro Elgin Girard

Lake City McKean Mill Village North East Platea

Union City Waterford Wattsburg Wesleyville

Townships

Amity Township Concord Township Conneaut Township Elk Creek Township Fairview Township Franklin Township Girard Township

Greene Township Greenfield Township Harborcreek Township Lawrence Park Township LeBoeuf Township McKean Township Millcreek Township North East Township

Springfield Township Summit Township Union Township Venango Township Washington Township Waterford Township Wayne Township

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.

• Avonia
• Northwest Harborcreek

Education

Public school districts

Map of Erie County, Pennsylvania School Districts

• Corry Area School District
• Erie City School District
• Fairview School District
• Fort LeBoeuf School District
• General McLane School District
• Girard School District
• Harbor Creek School District
• Iroquois School District
• Millcreek Township School District
• North East School District
• Northwestern School District
• Union City Area School District
• Wattsburg Area School District

Approved private schools

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has 36 Approved Private Schools including the Charter Schools for the Blind and Deaf. Students attending these schools come from across the commonwealth. The private schools are licensed by the State Board of Private Academic Schools. They provide a free appropriate special education for students with severe disabilities. The cost of tuition for these schools is paid 60% by the state and 40% by the local school district where the student is a resident. Pennsylvania currently has four PA chartered and 30 non-charter APSs for which the Department approves funding. These schools provide a program of special education for over 4,000 day and residential students. Parents are not charged for the services at the school.^[4] In 2009, the Pennsylvania Department of Education budgeted $98 million for tuition of children in approved private schools and $36.8 million for students attending the charter schools for the deaf and blind.^[5]

• Barber National Institute, Erie, PA

Recreation

There are two Pennsylvania state parks in Erie County and both are on the shores of Lake Erie.

• Erie Bluffs State Park - one of Pennsylvania's newest state parks
• Presque Isle State Park - one of Pennsylvania's oldest state parks

See also

Erie portal

• List of municipal authorities in Erie County, Pennsylvania
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Erie County, Pennsylvania

References

1. ^ History of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Chicago: Warner, Beers and Company, 1884. Volume I, Part II, Chapter I, pg 137
2. ^ Erie County Public Defenders Office, Access to Justice, 2006
3. ^ JNET
4. ^ Approved Private Schools and Chartered Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, Pennsylvania Department of Education website, accessed April 2010.
5. ^ Tommasini, John, Assistant Secretary of Education, Testimony before the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee Hearing on SB982 of 2010. given April 14, 2010

External links

• Erie County
• "History of Erie County, Pennsylvania" (1884)
• Erie County, PA Genealogy Page

Coordinates: 42°06′N 80°06′W / 42.10°N 80.10°W / 42.10; -80.10