Perry County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,842. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is New Bloomfield. The county was created on March 22, 1820, and was named for

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

, a hero of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, 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

of Cumberland County. Landisburg became the temporary county seat before New Bloomfield was ultimately 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 Green Park, officially The Green Park, is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the southern part – the core part – of the City of Westminster, Central London, but before that zone was extended to the north, to take in Marylebo ...

, an unincorporated village located in northeastern Tyrone Township, serves as Perry County's midpoint between the

Conococheague Mountain Conococheague Mountain is a long and narrow mountain located in the far western corner of Perry County, Pennsylvania. The highest point on the mountain is a summit known as Round Top; it rises to an elevation of and is located at the very south ...

in the west and the Susquehanna River to the east.

Geography

The county terrain is formed by the folded Appalachian Mountain ridges which run from southwest to northeast across the county. The terrain slopes to the northeast, with its highest point on the Blue Mountain Ridge, which delineates the border between Perry and Cumberland counties. The ridge peaks at 0.83 mile (1.33 km) NE from Perry County's southmost corner; it measures 2,269' (692m) ASL. The county is drained by the south-flowing Susquehanna River, which forms almost all of its eastern boundary. The Juniata River enters Perry County from Juniata County near Millerstown, and flows southeast to its confluence with the Susquehanna River near Duncannon. The county also contains several creeks, runs, and lakes, which provide recreational and fishing opportunities, formerly powered mills throughout the county and provided transport venues. To this day, canoeing and kayaking are forms of recreation which utilise the Sherman Creek and other waters in the county. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. The

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...

runs through the town of Duncannon. The county is also famous for being the northern head of the Tuscarora Trail. Perry County has a hot-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Dfa'') and average monthly temperatures in New Bloomfield range from 28.5 °F in January to 73.2 °F in July

The hardiness zone is 6b except in Marysville where it is 7a

Common trees include Acer rubrum, red maple, Virginia pine, oak, eastern white pine,

eastern hemlock ''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It is the state tree of ...

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

, shagbark hickory, and juniper, though

American sycamore ''Platanus occidentalis'', also known as American sycamore, American planetree, western plane, occidental plane, buttonwood, and water beech, is a species of ''Platanus'' native to the eastern and central United States, the mountains of northeas ...

, ironwood,

sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prim ...

, black walnut,

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

, and

sassafras ''Sassafras'' is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.Wolfe, Jack A. & Wehr, Wesley C. 1987. The sassafras is an ornamental tree. "Middle ...

are also fairly common. Mosses of various species are common sights, especially on fallen tree logs, along streams, on tree trunks, and in sidewalk cracks, usually growing in shaded areas. Ferns also grow along streams and in shaded areas, and are also commonly seen in Perry County woodlands.

Adjacent counties

* Juniata County - north * Northumberland County - northeast *

Dauphin County Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth ...

- east * Cumberland County - south * Franklin County - southwest

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * *

Protected areas

Big Spring State Forest Picnic Area Big Spring State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Toboyne Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is on Pennsylvania Route 274, southwest of New Germantown. Big Spring State Park is a hiking and picnic area. A ...

* Fowlers Hollow State Park * Little Buffalo State Park *

Colonel Denning State Park Colonel Denning State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Lower Mifflin Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is in the Doubling Gap of Blue Mountain on Pennsylvania Route 233 between Newville and Landis ...

(part) * Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area * State Game Lands Number 88 * State Game Lands Number 170 * State Game Lands Number 256 * State Game Lands Number 281 * Tuscarora State Forest (part)

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, there were 43,602 people, 16,695 households, and 12,320 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 79.1/sqmi (30.6/km²). There were 18,941 housing units at an average density of 34.4/sqmi (13.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.54%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.43%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.21% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.69% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race. 45.8% were of German, 16.4% American, 7.8%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and 5.0% English ancestry. 96.8% spoke English and 1.2%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

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 Anabaptist communities, such as

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

and

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

. The county population contained 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.

2020 Census

Metropolitan Statistical Area

The

United States Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

has designated Perry County as the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 census the metropolitan area ranked 6th most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 96th most populous in the United States, with its 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 Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and York Counties in Pennsylvania. The

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

ranked 5th in the State of Pennsylvania and 43rd most populous in the United States with a population of 1,219,422.

County Government

Commissioners

* Brian S. Allen, Chair (R) * Gary R. Eby, Vice Chair (R) * Brenda L. Watson, Secretary (D) (as of January 2020)

Sheriff

* David Hammar, Republican (as of January 2020)

State Senate

John DiSanto Giovanni M. "John" DiSanto is an American politician from Pennsylvania currently serving as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senator for the 15th district since 2017. His district is based in the state capital of Harrisburg. Early ...

, Republican, Pennsylvania's 15th Senatorial District

State House of Representatives

* Perry A. Stambaugh, Republican, Pennsylvania's 86th Representative District

United States House of Representatives

* Fred Keller,

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district

United States Senate

Pat Toomey Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for Pennsylvania since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representa ...

Bob Casey Jr. Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Casey previously served as Penn ...

, Democrat

Emergency services

The county's emergency services are located in the basement of the Perry County Courthouse. The 911 center's coverage area includes almost all of Perry County and portions of Juniata and Dauphin Counties.

Politics

In 2016, Donald J. Trump received 73.07% of the presidential vote, compared to 21.67% to

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

, and 5.26% for candidates Gary Johnson, write-ins, Jill Stein, and Darrell L. Castle, respectively. The county has voted for the Republican in every presidential election since 1964. In 2006, Lynn Swann received 9,998 votes (69%) to 4,477 votes (31%) for

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philad ...

, making it Swann's strongest county in his defeat.

Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate's third ...

also received more than 60% of the Perry County vote in his defeat.

Education

Public School Districts

* Greenwood School District (also covers parts of Juniata County). * Newport School District * Susquenita School District (also covers parts of

). *

West Perry School District The West Perry School District is a midsized, public school district located in western Perry County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses over , covering virtually all of the western half of the county. As one of Perry County's four school districts, ...

Fannett-Metal School District The Fannett-Metal School District is a diminutive, rural, public school district that serves Fannett and Metal townships in Franklin County, as well as a small portion of Toboyne Township in Perry County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses approx ...

(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

Media

Newspapers

The county is home to four weekly newspapers, three published by Advance Publications of Perry and Juniata Counties, Inc. associated with The Patriot-News of Harrisburg: Duncannon Record, The News-Sun, and Perry County Times. The Perry County Weekly is published by The Sentinel in Carlisle, Cumberland County, by

Lee Enterprises Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...

of Davenport, Iowa.

Books

There are numerous historical books written about the county, available at the Council of the Arts in Newport as well as other establishments. They cover various topics of the county's past, including an historical overview of the Blain area; an account of the life of the early settlers along the Shermans Creek in three townships; and an account of a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

battle on Sterrett's Gap.

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities:

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Perry County:

Boroughs

* Blain * Duncannon * Landisburg *

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

* Marysville * Millerstown * New Bloomfield (county seat) * New Buffalo * Newport

Unincorporated communities

* Acker * Andersonburg * Alinda * Amity Hall * Aqueduct * Bailey * Bixler * Bridgeport * Centre * Center Square * Cisna Run * Couchtown *

Cove A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are o ...

* Crums Corners * Dellville * Donnally Mills * Dromgold * Elliottsburg * Erly * Eshcol * Everhartville * Falling Spring * Fort Robertson * Glenvale * Gramere *

* Half Falls * Ickesburg * Juniata Furnace * Keystone * Kinkora Heights * Kistler * Little Germany * Losh Run * Loysville * Mannsville * Marklesville * McKee * Mecks Corner * Milltown * Montebello * Montgomery Ferry * Mount Patrick * Mount Pleasant * Nekoda * New Germantown * Oakgrove * Old Ferry *

Perdix ''Perdix'' is a genus of Galliform gamebirds known collectively as the 'true partridges'. These birds are unrelated to the subtropical species that have been named after the partridge due to similar size and morphology. Taxonomy The genus ''Pe ...

* Pine Grove * Pfoutz Valley * Reward * Rose Glen * Roseburg * Saville * Seyoc * Shermans Dale * Stony Point * Sundy Place * Wahneta * Walnut Grove * Wardville * Wila

Townships

* Buffalo * Carroll *

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

* Greenwood * Howe *

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

* Juniata *

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...

* Northeast Madison * Oliver * Penn * Rye * Saville * Southwest Madison * Spring * Toboyne * Tuscarora * Tyrone * Watts * Wheatfield

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Perry County. † ''county seat''

Economy

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 ar
Spiral Path Farm
and Yeehaw Farm, with the latter having been spotlighted by

the Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

. 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.

Recreation

The county has a variety of recreation facilities. There are three state parks: Fowlers Hollow State Park, Little Buffalo State Park, and

. The Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area is found near New Bloomfield along Huckleberry Road. Carroll Township Park also offers a wide variety of athletic facilities.Perry County Administration, Services available in Perry County, 2015 Pools:

Pool (Jann Deitzler Memorial Pool), Millerstown Pool, New Bloomfield Pool, and Little Buffalo State Park Pool Trails: Hawk Rock Trail and Iron Horse Trail State Game Lands: #170 Dellville, #254 New Buffalo, #256-Mecks Corner and #281 Miller Township. Hunting requires licenses from the PA Game Commission.

Gallery

File:Duncannon, PA.JPG, Duncannon, downtown view showing the Doyle. File:New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania (1913).jpg, New Bloomfield in 1913. File:Books Bridge 2.JPG, Books Covered Bridge. File:New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania (4143285489).jpg, New Bloomfield. File:Blain PA Depot.JPG, Blain Depot in Blain. File:UPSTREAM ELEVATION. - South High Street Bridge, South High Street, spanning Little Juniata Creek, Duncannon, Perry County, PA HAER PA-612-6.tif, South High Street Bridge, Duncannon. File:Little Buffalo State Park.JPG, Little Buffalo State Park, near New Bloomfield. File:An old building in Dellville, PA.jpg, An old building in Dellville (formerly a store.) File:Newport Boro HD.JPG, Downtown Newport. File:Duncannon PA Presby PHS174.jpg, Presbyterian church in Duncannon. File:Dunbar Creigh.JPG, Landisburg. File:Shagbark Hickory bark in Perry County, PA.jpg, A shagbark hickory tree near Dellville.

References

External links

Perry County official website
{{authority control 1820 establishments in Pennsylvania Counties of Appalachia Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area Populated places established in 1820