- Clarion County, Pennsylvania
-
Clarion County, Pennsylvania 
Clarion County Courthouse
Seal
Location in the state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location in the U.S.Founded March 11, 1839 Seat Clarion Largest city Clarion Area
- Total
- Land
- Water
609 sq mi (1,577 km²)
602 sq mi (1,559 km²)
7 sq mi (18 km²), 1.07%Population
- (2010)
- Density
39,988
66/sq mi (25.6/km²)Website www.co.clarion.pa.us Clarion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was formed on March 11, 1839, from parts of Venango and Armstrong counties. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 39,988.[1] Its county seat is Clarion[2].
Contents
Law and Government
Pennsylvania State Senate
District Senator Party 21 Mary Jo White Republican Pennsylvania House of Representatives
District Representative Party 63 Donna Oberlander Republican United States House of Representatives
District Representative Party 5 Glenn W. Thompson Republican United States Senate
Senator Party Pat Toomey Republican Bob Casey Democrat Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas, President Judge
- Hon. James G. Arner
District Attorney
- Mark T. Aaron; Republican
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 609 square miles (1,577.3 km2), of which 602 square miles (1,559.2 km2) is land and 7 square miles (18.1 km2) (1.07%) is water.
Adjacent counties
- Forest County (north)
- Jefferson County (east)
- Armstrong County (south)
- Butler County (southwest)
- Venango County (west)
State Park
Part of Cook Forest State Park is in Clarion County.
Demographics
Historical populations Census Pop. %± 1850 23,565 — 1860 24,988 6.0% 1870 26,537 6.2% 1880 40,328 52.0% 1890 36,802 −8.7% 1900 34,283 −6.8% 1910 36,683 7.0% 1920 36,170 −1.4% 1930 34,531 −4.5% 1940 38,410 11.2% 1950 38,334 −0.2% 1960 37,480 −2.2% 1970 38,414 2.5% 1980 43,362 12.9% 1990 41,699 −3.8% 2000 41,765 0.2% 2010 39,988 −4.3% [3][4] As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 41,765 people, 16,052 households, and 10,738 families residing in the county. The population density was 69 people per square mile (27/km²). There were 19,426 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.16% White, 0.79% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. 0.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 45.0% were of German, 10.3% American, 9.8% Irish, 6.7% Italian and 6.2% English ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 16,052 households out of which 28.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were married couples living together, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.30% 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 21.60% under the age of 18, 15.40% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.40 males.
Notable residents
- Hunter Corbett : A Pioneer of an American Presbyterian missionary to China, ministered in China for 56 years.
- Chris Kirkpatrick - musician ('N Sync). Born in Clarion
- Ernest M. Skinner - pipe organ builder, inventor. Born in Clarion
- Jane Wolfe - silent film actress and thelemite. Born in St. Petersburg
- Dominick Labino - renowned glass artist. Born in Fairmount City (Redbank Township), managed the Owens-Illinois glass plant in Clarion Borough.
- Jim Kelly - Athlete, NFL (Buffalo Bills). Grew up in East Brady
Map of Clarion County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Boroughs (red) and Townships (white).
Municipalities
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 Clarion County:
Boroughs
Townships
- Piney Township
- Porter Township
- Redbank Township
- Richland Township
- Salem Township
- Toby Township
- Washington Township
Education
Map of Clarion County, Pennsylvania Public School DistrictsColleges and universities
Public School Districts
- Armstrong School District (also in Armstrong County)
- Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District
- Clarion Area School District
- Clarion-Limestone Area School District
- Karns City Area School District
- Keystone School District
- North Clarion County School District
- Redbank Valley School District
- Union School District
The 500 school districts of Pennsylvania were ranked for student academic achievement by the Pittsburgh Business Times in 2008.
- Armstrong School District - 283rd (also in Armstrong County)
- Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District - 396th
- Clarion Area School District - 125th
- Clarion-Limestone Area School District - 191st
- Karns City Area School District - 270th (also in Armstrong County and Butler County)
- Keystone School District -297th
- North Clarion County School District - 225th
- Redbank Valley School District - 167th
- Union School District (Pennsylvania)|Union School District - 455th
The nine school districts of Clarion County have low enrollment. The Pennsylvania Department of Education projects that they will continue to experience steadily declining enrollment through 2019. A new school district composed of Clarion Area School District, Clarion-Limestone Area School District and North Clarion County School District would have a student population of 2500 with declining enrollment projected in all three former districts through 2019. A new district composed of Union School District (Pennsylvania), Keystone School District and adding Perry Township and Richland Township would have a student population under 2000 pupils. Consolidation would bring the elimination of costly main office, administrator positions. This would assist the district residents with the rising school administrator, employee and teachers' pension costs by controlling the need to raise taxes.
Over the next 10 years, rural Pennsylvania school enrollment is projected to decrease 8 percent. The most significant enrollment decline is projected to be in western Pennsylvania, where rural school districts may have a 16 percent decline. More than 40 percent of elementary schools and more than 60 percent of secondary schools in western Pennsylvania are projected to experience significant enrollment decreases (15 percent or greater).[6] As the enrollment declines, per pupil administrative costs of the schools will continue to rise.
Pennsylvania has one of the highest numbers of school districts in the nation. In Pennsylvania, 80% of the school districts serve student populations under 5,000, and 40% serve less than 2,000. Less than 95 of Pennsylvania's 501 school districts have enrollment below 1250 students, in 2007.[7] This results in excessive school administration bureaucracy and not enough course diversity.[8] In a survey of 88 superintendents of small districts, 42% of the 49 respondents stated that they thought consolidation would save money without closing any schools.[9]
Property taxes in Pennsylvania are relatively high on a national scale. According to the Tax Foundation, Pennsylvania ranked 11th in the U.S. in 2008 in terms of property taxes paid as a percentage of home value (1.34%) and 12th in the country in terms of property taxes as a percentage of income (3.55%).[10]
See also
- List of municipal authorities in Clarion County, Pennsylvania
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Clarion County, Pennsylvania
- Oil Creek Library District
References
- ^ http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov
- ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Research Analyzes Rural School District Enrollment and Building Capacity", The Center for Rural Pennsylvania. October 2009
- ^ Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, Study of the Cost Effectiveness of Consolidating Pennsylvania School Districts, 2007.
- ^ Rendell, E. & Soderberg, M. (2009). Pennsylvania school district consolidation. 2009-10 Executive Budget Fast Facts. Pennsylvania Office of the Governor.
- ^ Study of the cost-effectiveness of consolidating Pennsylvania districts. New York: Standard & Poor’s School Evaluation Services. 2007, p. 6.
- ^ New Census Data on Property Taxes on Homeowners, Tax Foundation, September 22, 2009.
Municipalities and communities of Clarion County, Pennsylvania County seat: Clarion Boroughs Callensburg | Clarion | East Brady | Emlenton‡ | Foxburg | Hawthorn | Knox | New Bethlehem | Rimersburg | Shippenville | Sligo | St. Petersburg | Strattanville
Townships Unincorporated
communityScotch Hill
Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Categories:- Pennsylvania counties
- Clarion County, Pennsylvania
- 1839 establishments in the United States
- Populated places established in 1839
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