Centre County, Pennsylvania

Centre County, Pennsylvania
Seal
Location in the state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 13, 1800
Seat	Bellefonte
Largest city	State College
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,112 sq mi (2,880 km²) 1,108 sq mi (2,870 km²) 4 sq mi (10 km²), 0.39%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	153,990 139/sq mi (53.6/km²)
Website	co.centre.pa.us

Centre County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 153,990.

Centre County was created on February 13, 1800, from parts of Huntingdon, Lycoming, Mifflin, and Northumberland counties and named for its central location in the state. Its county seat is Bellefonte^[1].

Law and government

County Commissioners

• Steven Dershem, Chairman, Republican
• Chris Exarchos, Republican
• Michael Pipe, Democrat

Other county offices

• Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Debra Immel, Democrat
• Controller, Charles Witmer, Republican
• Coroner, Scott Sayers, Democrat
• District Attorney, Stacy Parks Miller, Democrat
• Recorder of Deeds, Joe Davidson, Republican
• Register of Wills, Kim Barton, Republican
• Sheriff, Denny Nau, Democrat
• Treasurer, Rich Fornicola, Republican

Pennsylvania State Senate

• Jake Corman, Republican, Pennsylvania's 34th Senatorial District
• John N. Wozniak, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 35th Senatorial District

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

• Michael K. Hanna Sr., Democrat, Pennsylvania's 76th Representative District
• Scott Conklin, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 77th Representative District
• Kerry Benninghoff, Republican, Pennsylvania's 171st Representative District

United States House of Representatives

• Glenn "G.T." Thompson, Republican, Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district

United States Senate

• Pat Toomey, Republican
• Bob Casey, Jr., Democrat

Politics

As of November 2008, there are 106,169 registered voters in Centre County [1].

• Democratic: 46,541 (43.84%)
• Republican: 40,881 (38.51%)
• Other Parties: 18,747 (17.66%)

Centre County had for many years been a strongly Republican county like most of rural Pennsylvania. In recent years, however, it has been becoming more competitive. In 2000 George W. Bush defeated Al Gore with 52% of the vote to Gore's 43%. In 2004 Bush won the county by a much smaller margin. Bush won 51% to Kerry's 47%, a margin of only 4%. In 2006, Governor Ed Rendell and Bob Casey Jr. both carried Centre and Democrat Scott Conklin decisively won the State House seat left open by the retirement of Republican Lynn Herman in the 77th district. In 2008, the Democrats captured the countywide registration edge, Barack Obama carried the county with 55% of the vote to McCain's 44%, and the other three statewide winners (Rob McCord for Treasurer, Jack Wagner for Auditor General, and Tom Corbett for Attorney General) also carried Centre.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,112 square miles (2,880.1 km²), of which 1,108 square miles (2,869.7 km²) is land and 4 square miles (10.4 km²) (0.39%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Clinton County (north)
• Union County (east)
• Mifflin County (southeast)
• Huntingdon County (south)
• Blair County (south)
• Clearfield County (west)

Significant Topographic Features

• Bald Eagle Valley
• Bald Eagle Mountain
• Nittany Valley
• Mount Nittany
• Tussey Mountain

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1810	10,681		—
1820	13,796		29.2%
1830	18,879		36.8%
1840	20,492		8.5%
1850	23,355		14.0%
1860	27,000		15.6%
1870	34,418		27.5%
1880	37,922		10.2%
1890	43,269		14.1%
1900	42,894		−0.9%
1910	43,424		1.2%
1920	44,304		2.0%
1930	46,294		4.5%
1940	52,608		13.6%
1950	65,922		25.3%
1960	78,580		19.2%
1970	99,267		26.3%
1980	112,760		13.6%
1990	123,786		9.8%
2000	135,760		9.7%
2010	153,990		13.4%

As of the 2010 census, the county was 89.4% White, 3.0% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 5.2% Asian, and 1.5% were two or more races. 2.4% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry[2].

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 135,758 people, 49,323 households, and 28,508 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile (47/km²). There were 53,161 housing units at an average density of 48 per square mile (19/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.44% White, 2.61% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 3.96% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.74% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. 1.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 26.1% were of German, 9.8% Irish, 9.3% American, 8.7% Italian and 8.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.9% spoke English, 1.8% Spanish and 1.1% Chinese or Mandarin as their first language.

There were 49,323 households out of which 25.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.90% were married couples living together, 6.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.20% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out with 18.00% under the age of 18, 26.80% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 18.40% from 45 to 64, and 10.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 104.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.40 males.

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 Centre County:

Boroughs

Bellefonte Centre Hall Howard Milesburg

Millheim Philipsburg Port Matilda Snow Shoe

South Philipsburg (former) State College Unionville

Townships

Benner Township Boggs Township Burnside Township College Township Curtin Township Ferguson Township Gregg Township Haines Township Halfmoon Township

Harris Township Howard Township Huston Township Liberty Township Marion Township Miles Township Patton Township Penn Township

Rush Township Potter Township Snow Shoe Township Spring Township Taylor Township Union Township Walker Township Worth 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.

Aaronsburg Blanchard Boalsburg Clarence Coburn Colyer Houserville Ingleby

Julian Lemont Madisonburg Monument North Philipsburg Park Forest Village Pine Glen Pine Grove Mills

Pleasant Gap Ramblewood Rebersburg Sandy Ridge Spring Mills Stormstown Woodward Zion

Education

Colleges and universities

• Pennsylvania State University

Community, Junior, and Technical Colleges

• South Hills School of Business and Technology
• Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology

Public School Districts

• Bald Eagle Area School District
• Bellefonte Area School District
• Keystone Central School District (also in Clinton County)
• Penns Valley Area School District
• Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District (also in Clearfield County)
• State College Area School District
• Tyrone Area School District (also in Blair County and Huntingdon County)

Public Charter Schools

• Young Scholars of Central PA Charter School
• Centre Learning Community Charter School
• Nittany Valley Charter School
• Wonderland Charter School

• There are 11 public cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania that are available for free statewide, to children K-12. See: Education in Pennsylvania.

Private Schools

As reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Education 2010.

• Bower Hollow Parochial School - Woodward
• Centre County Christian Academy - Bellefonte
• Elk Creek School - Rebersburg
• Faith Christian Academy - Philipsburg
• Grace Prep - State College
• Hill Side School - Rebersburg
• Hubler Ridge School - Bellefonte
• Kramer Gap School - Spring Mills
• Little Nittany Amish Parochial School - Howard
• Mountain View School - Rebersburg
• Nittany Christian School - State College
• Our Lady of Victory School - State College
• Peach Lane Amish School - Madisonburg
• Penns Valley Amish Paroch School - Woodward
• Rockville School - Rebersburg
• Spring Bank School - Rebersburg
• St John Evangelist School - Bellefonte
• State College Friends School - State College
• Sunny Meadow Parochial School - Howard
• Sunset View School - Howard
• Sunset View School - Rebersburg
• Windy Poplars School - Centre Hall
• Woodside Amish School - Spring Mills

Recreation

There are six Pennsylvania state parks in Centre County.

• Bald Eagle State Park is on Pennsylvania Route 150 between State College and Lock Haven.
• Black Moshannon State Park west of State College has a bog with three species of carnivorous plants and 17 orchid varieties.
• McCalls Dam State Park is a small park on a dirt road in the extreme eastern tip of the county.
• Penn-Roosevelt State Park is the site of a former segregated CCC camp for African American men.
• Poe Paddy State Park
• Poe Valley State Park

See also

Pennsylvania portal

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

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Official site
• Centre Daily Times Local Newspaper
• Interactive Web Mapping Application for Centre County
• Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) Historical Marker Search

Coordinates: 40°55′N 77°49′W / 40.91°N 77.82°W / 40.91; -77.82