Bedford County, Pennsylvania facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bedford County
U.S. county
Bedford County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Founded	March 9, 1771
Named for	Fort Bedford
Seat	Bedford
Largest borough	Bedford
Area
• Total	1,017 sq mi (2,630 km2)
• Land	1,012 sq mi (2,620 km2)
• Water	4.6 sq mi (12 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	47,577
• Density	47/sq mi (18/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	13th
Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Designated:	October 17, 1982

Bedford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,577. The county seat is Bedford.

History

Robert MacRay opened the first trading post in Raystown (which is now Bedford) on the land that is now Bedford County in 1750. The settlers had a difficult time dealing with raids from Indians and the fighting between the French and the British.

In 1759, after the capture of Fort Duquesne in Allegheny County, a road was built between the fort (which was renamed to Fort Pitt) to the newly built Fort Bedford in Raystown. This road followed Indian trails and became "Forbes Road" which passed through Bedford and is now Route 30. When the Pennsylvania Turnpike was built, this interstate toll road became the main highway through Bedford County.

Bedford County was created on March 9, 1771 from part of Cumberland County and named in honor of the Fort Bedford.

The area quickly increased in population once safety became more established. The land with its lush farmland and woodland became an attractive site. It also formed an important center on the way to Pittsburgh and farther west of Pennsylvania. George Washington stayed in the county in response to the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794.

View from Glade Pike on Dry Ridge.

The Bedford Springs Hotel became an important site for the wealthy. Under President James Buchanan, the hotel became the summer White House. The U.S. Supreme Court met at the hotel once. It was the only time that the high court met outside of the Capital.

The 19th century featured a population boom in the county with the population doubling in size between 1870 and 1890. Railroads passing through the town connected the county with the mining industry. The story of the Lost Children of the Alleghenies originates from Blue Knob State Park in the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,017 square miles (2,630 km²), of which 1,012 square miles (2,620 km²) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km²) (0.5%) is water.

Features

• Evitts Mountain
• Morrison Cove
• Tussey Mountain
• Blue Knob

Adjacent counties

• Blair County (north)
• Huntingdon County (northeast)
• Fulton County (east)
• Allegany County, Maryland (south)
• Somerset County (west)
• Cambria County (northwest)

Geology

Blue Knob Mountain (3,146 ft)from Helixville

Bedford County is situated along the western border of the Ridge and Valley physiographic province, which is characterized by folded and faulted sedimentary rocks of early to middle Paleozoic age. The northwestern border of the county is approximately at the Allegheny Front, a geological boundary between the Ridge and Valley Province and the Allegheny Plateau (characterized by relatively flat-lying sedimentary rocks of late Paleozoic age). (PA Geological Survey Map 13)

The stratigraphic record of sedimentary rocks within the county spans from the Cambrian Warrior Formation to the Pennsylvanian Conemaugh Group (in the Broad Top area). No igneous or metamorphic rocks of any kind exist within the county.

The primary mountains within the county (From west to east: Wills, Evitts, Dunning, and Tussey mountains) extend from the southern border with Maryland to the northeast into Blair County, and are held up by the Silurian Tuscarora Formation, made of quartz sandstone and conglomerate. Chestnut Ridge is a broad anticline held up by the Devonian Ridgeley Member of the Old Port Formation, also made of sandstone and conglomerate. Broad Top, located north of Breezewood, is a plateau of relatively flat-lying rocks that are stratigraphically higher, and thus younger (Mississippian and Pennsylvanian), than most of the other rocks within the county (Cambrian through Devonian). Broad Top extends into Huntingdon County to the north and Fulton County to the east.

The Raystown Branch of the Juniata River is the main drainage in the northern two-thirds of the county. The river flows to the east through the mountains within the county through several water gaps caused by a group of faults trending east–west through the central part of the county. The river then turns north and flows into Raystown Lake in Huntingdon County. The southern third of the county is drained by several tributaries of the Potomac River. Both the Potomac and Juniata rivers are part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Several limestone quarries exist in Bedford County, most of which are owned and operated by New Enterprise Stone and Lime Company. Quarry locations include Ashcom, New Paris, Kilcoin, and Sproul. [1].

Two coal fields exist within Bedford County. One is the Broad Top Field in the northeastern corner of the county, and the other is the Georges Creek Field along the southwestern border [2]. Both fields contain bituminous coal. There are abandoned mines in both areas and acid mine drainage is an environmental problem in the Broad Top area, where several fishless streams exist as a result of the discharge from the abandoned mines. [3].

Natural gas fields and storage areas exist in southeastern Bedford County, primarily within folded Devonian rocks south of Breezewood. Another deep gas field exists in the vicinity of Blue Knob on the border with Blair County to the north. (PA Geological Survey Map 10)

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 49,762 people, 20,233 households, and 14,251 families residing in the county. The population density was 49 people per square mile (19/km²). There were 23,954 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile (9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.0% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. 0.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 20,233 households, out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% 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 2.90.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.9 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.

Transportation

Major highways

Airports

Bedford County Airport is a public use airport in Bedford County. It is owned by the Bedford County Airport Authority and is located four nautical miles (7.4 km) north of the central business district of the borough of Bedford, Pennsylvania.

Recreation

There are 3 Pennsylvania state parks in Bedford County.

• Blue Knob State Park site of the Blue Knob All Seasons Resort
• Shawnee State Park
• Warriors Path State Park

The largest borough-owned park in the county is a 77-acre community park in Everett, Pennsylvania - open to the public and available for events. Mid State Trail (Pennsylvania) and Great Eastern Trail pass through Everett and Tenley Park.

• Tenley Park

Communities

Map of Bedford County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Boroughs (red) and Townships (white).

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in only one case (Bloomsburg, Columbia County), towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Bedford County:

Boroughs

• Bedford (county seat)
• Coaldale
• Everett
• Hopewell
• Hyndman
• Manns Choice
• New Paris
• Pleasantville
• Rainsburg
• St. Clairsville
• Saxton
• Schellsburg
• Woodbury

Townships

Census-designated places

• Defiance
• Earlston
• Stonerstown

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Bedford County.

† county seat

Education

Map of Bedford County, Pennsylvania School Districts

Public school districts

• Bedford Area School District
• Chestnut Ridge School District
• Claysburg-Kimmel School District (also in Blair County)
• Everett Area School District
• Northern Bedford County School District
• Tussey Mountain School District (also in Huntingdon County)

Public Charter Schools

• HOPE for Hyndman Charter School, Hyndman

Pennsylvania resident students may also attend any of the Commonwealth's 13 public cyber charter schools which provide instruction via computers and the Internet.

Public Vo Tech School

Bedford County Technical Center

Private schools

• Allegheny Valley Christian School, Schellsburg
• Christian Light School, Bedford
• Dry Hill Parochial School, Woodbury
• Friends Cove Mennonite School, Bedford
• Global Power Line Academy, Claysburg
• Golden Rule School, Martinsburg
• Learning Lamp at Everett, Everett
• Little Learning Lamp
• Lone Oak Mennonite School, New Enterprise
• Noahs Ark Kindergarten, New Park
• Snake Spring Valley Christian Academy, Inc, Everett
• South Cove Parochial School, New Enterprise
• Saint Thomas School, Bedford, Pennsylvania, Bedford
• Sunny Slope School, Woodbury
• Woodbury Mennonite School, Woodbury

Colleges or university

• Allegany College of Maryland campus in Everett

As reported in ED Names and Places directory maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Education August 2015

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Bedford (Pensilvania) para niños