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Perry County, Pennsylvania facts for kids

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Perry County
Saville Covered Bridge in Saville Township
Saville Covered Bridge in Saville Township
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Perry County
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Map of the United States highlighting Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  Pennsylvania
Founded 22 March 1820
Named for Oliver Hazard Perry
Seat New Bloomfield
Largest Borough Marysville
Area
 • Total 556 sq mi (1,440 km2)
 • Land 551 sq mi (1,430 km2)
 • Water 4.1 sq mi (11 km2)  0.7%%
Population
 • Estimate 
(2018)
46,139
 • Density 83.7/sq mi (32.3/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 12th

Perry County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 45,969. The county seat is New Bloomfield. The county was created on March 22, 1820, and was named for Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the War of 1812, who had recently died. It was originally part of Cumberland County and was created in part because residents did not want to travel over the mountain to Carlisle (the county seat of Cumberland County), and thus the temporary county seat became Landisburg (before New Bloomfield was chosen.)

Perry County is included in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is served by the 717/223 area codes.

In 2010, the center of population of Pennsylvania was located in the eastern end of Perry County. Green Park, an unincorporated village located in northeastern Tyrone Township, serves as Perry County's midpoint between the Conococheague Mountain in the west and the Susquehanna River to the east.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 556 square miles (1,440 km2), of which 551 square miles (1,430 km2) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km2) (0.7%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Major Highways

  • US 11 / US 15
  • US 22 / US 322
  • PA 17

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1820 11,342
1830 14,261 25.7%
1840 17,096 19.9%
1850 20,088 17.5%
1860 22,793 13.5%
1870 25,447 11.6%
1880 27,522 8.2%
1890 26,276 −4.5%
1900 26,263 0.0%
1910 24,136 −8.1%
1920 22,875 −5.2%
1930 21,744 −4.9%
1940 23,213 6.8%
1950 24,782 6.8%
1960 26,582 7.3%
1970 28,615 7.6%
1980 35,718 24.8%
1990 41,172 15.3%
2000 43,609 5.9%
2010 45,969 5.4%
2015 (est.) 45,685 −0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790-1960 1900-1990
1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the census of 2000, there were 43,602 people, 16,695 households, and 12,320 families residing in the county. The population density was 79 people per square mile (30/km²). There were 18,941 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.54% White, 0.43% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.69% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 45.8% were of German, 16.4% American, 7.8% Irish and 5.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.8% spoke English and 1.2% Spanish as their first language.

There were 16,695 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.01. There is also a high population of Amish.

In Perry County, the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

Perry County's live birth rate was 609 births in 1990. The County's live birth rate in 2000 had declined sharply to 511 births, while in 2011 it was 555 babies. Over the past 50 years (1960 to 2010), rural Pennsylvania saw a steady decline in both the number and proportion of residents under 18 years old. In 1960, 1.06 million rural residents, or 35 percent of the rural population, were children.

Metropolitan Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget has designated Perry County as the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 U.S. Census the metropolitan area ranked 6th most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 96th most populous in the United States with a population of 549,475. Perry County is also a part of the larger Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which combines the populations of Perry County as well as Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon and York Counties in Pennsylvania. The Combined Statistical Area ranked 5th in the State of Pennsylvania and 43rd most populous in the United States with a population of 1,219,422.

Communities

Map of Perry County Pennsylvania With Municipal and Township Labels
Map of Perry 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 at most two cases, towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Perry County:

Boroughs

Townships

  • Buffalo
  • Carroll
  • Centre
  • Greenwood
  • Howe
  • Jackson
  • Juniata
  • Liverpool
  • Miller
  • Northeast Madison
  • Oliver
  • Penn
  • Rye
  • Saville
  • Southwest Madison
  • Spring
  • Toboyne
  • Tuscarora
  • Tyrone
  • Watts
  • Wheatfield

Unincorporated area

Population ranking

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

county seat

Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population (2010 Census)
1 Marysville Borough 2,534
2 Newport Borough 1,574
3 Duncannon Borough 1,522
4 New Bloomfield Borough 1,247
5 Liverpool Borough 955
6 Millerstown Borough 673
7 Blain Borough 263
8 Landisburg Borough 218
9 New Buffalo Borough 129

Marcellus shale impact fee

Act 13 of 2012, which levied a Marcellus Shale Impact Fee, was signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett on February 14, 2012. In 2014, Perry County received an impact fee disbursement of $43,677.42. The top county recipient was Washington County which received $6,512,570.65 in 2014. In 2014, there were no marcellus shale wells in Perry County.

  • 2013 - no shale wells, impact fee revenues to Perry County - $43,793.65

Economy

Concrete milkhouse which abuts the elegantly decorated, louvered barn in Duncannon, Pennsylvania LCCN2011631662
A barn near Duncannon

Perry County's economy is primarily agricultural. Various farmers markets, roadside stands, farm produce stands, food festivals, resale farm stands, meat stores, and plant nurseries are present throughout the county. Two farms in Perry County are particularly well known, which are Spiral Path Farm and Yeehaw Farm, with the latter having been spotlighted by the Washington Post. The county's area is 38.3% farmland, of which 11.09% (thus 4.24% of all land in the county) is pastureland.

Perry County also hosts a wide range of non-agricultural businesses. Historically, mills were prevalent, and the county currently has 21 known non-operational mills still standing. Settlement was not allowed until 1755, and when settlement was allowed, it was not safe: in June 1755, Native Americans chased nearly all of the pioneers out, until it was considered safe to return in 1762. The first mill was taxed in 1763, though the exact date of its completion is not known.

Nearly every stream's basin hosted a sawmill, providing wood for early buildings and boardwalks.

Education

Map of Perry County Pennsylvania School Districts
Map of Perry County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts

Public School Districts

  • Greenwood School District (also covers parts of Juniata County).
  • Newport School District
  • Susquenita School District (also covers parts of Dauphin County).
  • West Perry School District
  • Fannett-Metal School District (located in Franklin County, but covers parts of Perry County).

Intermediate unit

The Capital Area Intermediate Unit 15 is a state approved education agency that offers to Perry County school districts, charter schools, private schools, and home school students, a variety of services including: a completely developed K-12 curriculum that is mapped and aligned with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards (available online), shared services, a joint purchasing program and a wide variety of special education and special needs services.

Private schools

As reported on EdNA (ED Names and Addresses) by the Pennsylvania Department of Education:

  • Blue Goose Children's Learning Center, Inc – Newport
  • Carson Long Military Institute
  • Clarks Run Parochial School – Blain
  • Community Christian Academy – Newport
  • Farm Lane School – Ickesburg
  • Fowlers Hollow School – Blain
  • Heritage Christian School – West Perry
  • Honeysuckle Ridge School – Elliotsburg
  • Kuddly Bear Child Care Center Inc. – Duncannon
  • Loysville Youth Development Center – Loysville
  • Manassa School – Blain
  • Messiah Day Care Center – Elliottsburg
  • Mountain View Parochial School – Ickesburg
  • Perry View Parochial School – Landisburg
  • Raccoon Valley Amish School – Millerstown
  • Shermans View School – Loysville
  • Stony Point School – Loysville
  • Sunset Valley School – Millerstown

Trade schools

  • Central Pennsylvania Diesel Institute – Liverpool

Public libraries

  • New Bloomfield Public Library
  • Community Library of Western Perry County
  • Marysville-Rye Public Library
  • Newport Public Library

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Perry (Pensilvania) para niños

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