Blair County, Pennsylvania

Blair County, Pennsylvania
Blair County Courthouse, Hollidaysburg
Location in the state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 26, 1846
Seat	Hollidaysburg
Largest city	Altoona
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	527 sq mi (1,365 km²) 526 sq mi (1,362 km²) 1 sq mi (3 km²), 0.25%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	127,089 242/sq mi (93.3/km²)
Website	www.blairco.org

Blair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 127,089. It was created on February 26, 1846, from parts of Huntingdon and Bedford Counties. Its county seat is Hollidaysburg^[1].

Law And Government

As of November 2008, there are 84,405 registered voters in Blair County [1].

• Republican: 45,925 (54.41%)
• Democratic: 29,589 (35.06%)
• Other Parties: 8,891 (10.53%)

County commissioners

• Terry Tomassetti, Chair, Republican
• Diane Meling, Vice-chair, Republican
• Donna Gority, Secretary, Democrat

Other county offices

• Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Carol Newman, Republican
• Controller, Richard Peo, Republican
• Coroner, Patricia Ross, Republican
• District Attorney, Richard Consiglio, Republican
• Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds, Mary Ann Bennis, Republican
• Sheriff, Mitch Cooper, Republican
• Treasurer, James Carothers, Republican

Pennsylvania State Senate

• John Eichelberger, Republican, Pennsylvania's 30th Senatorial District

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

• Richard Geist, Republican, Pennsylvania's 79th Representative District
• Jerry Stern, Republican, Pennsylvania's 80th Representative District
• Mike Fleck, Republican, Pennsylvania's 81st Representative District

United States House of Representatives

• Bill Shuster, Republican, Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district

United States Senate

• Pat Toomey, Republican
• Bob Casey, Democrat

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 527 square miles (1,364.9 km²), of which 526 square miles (1,362.3 km²) is land and 1 square mile (2.6 km²) (0.25%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Centre County (north)
• Huntingdon County (east)
• Bedford County (south)
• Cambria County (west)
• Clearfield County (northwest)

National protected area

• Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site (part)

Significant Topographic Features

• Brush Mountain
• Logan Valley
• Morrison Cove
• Tussey Mountain

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	21,777		—
1860	27,829		27.8%
1870	38,051		36.7%
1880	52,740		38.6%
1890	70,866		34.4%
1900	85,099		20.1%
1910	108,858		27.9%
1920	128,334		17.9%
1930	139,840		9.0%
1940	140,358		0.4%
1950	139,519		−0.6%
1960	137,270		−1.6%
1970	135,356		−1.4%
1980	136,621		0.9%
1990	130,542		−4.4%
2000	129,144		−1.1%
2010	127,089		−1.6%
[2][3]

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 129,144 people, 51,518 households, and 34,877 families residing in the county. The population density was 246 people per square mile (95/km²). There were 55,061 housing units at an average density of 105 per square mile (40/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.61% White, 1.19% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 0.51% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 40.0% were of German, 12.2% Irish, 10.7% Italian, 9.9% American and 6.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 51,518 households out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.60% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 27.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.70% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 17.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.50 males.

Municipalities

Map of Blair 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 Blair County:

City

• Altoona

Altoona has a population of 49,523 as of January 29, 2011.

Boroughs

• Bellwood
• Duncansville (includes Puzzletown)
• Hollidaysburg

• Martinsburg
• Newry
• Roaring Spring

• Tunnelhill
• Tyrone
• Williamsburg

Townships

Allegheny Township Antis Township Blair Township Catharine Township Frankstown Township

Freedom Township Greenfield Township Huston Township Juniata Township Logan Township

North Woodbury Township Snyder Township Taylor Township Tyrone Township Woodbury 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.

• Claysburg
• Tipton

Education

Map of Blair County, Pennsylvania School Districts

Colleges and universities

Penn State Altoona

Community, Junior and Technical Colleges

South Hills School of Business and Technology

Public School Districts

• Altoona Area School District
• Bellwood-Antis School District
• Claysburg-Kimmel School District
• Hollidaysburg Area School District
• Penn Cambria School District (also in Cambria County)
• Spring Cove School District
• Tyrone Area School District
• Williamsburg Community School District
• Agora Cyber Charter School

• Central PA Digital Learning Foundation Charter School grades K-12. Altoona. There are 11 public cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania that are available for free statewide, to children K-12. See: Education in Pennsylvania.^[5]

Recreation

There is one Pennsylvania state park in Blair County.

• Canoe Creek State Park

See also

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

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov
3. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
5. ^ Pennsylvania Department of Education. "Charter Schools in Pennsylvania". http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/charter_schools/7356/charter_schools_in_pennsylvania/508152. Retrieved February 9, 2011. 

External links

• Forever Free: Blair County's Civil War
• The Blair County Historical Society
• Blair County government
• Blair County Chamber of Commerce
• Blair County History
• Catharine Township
• Morrisons Cove Herald website

Coordinates: 40°28′N 78°21′W / 40.47°N 78.35°W / 40.47; -78.35