Mifflin County, Pennsylvania

Mifflin County, Pennsylvania
former Mifflin County Courthouse
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Mifflin County
Location in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Map of the United States highlighting Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location in the U.S.
Founded September 19, 1789
Named for Thomas Mifflin
Seat Lewistown
Largest borough Lewistown
Area
 • Total 415 sq mi (1,075 km2)
 • Land 411 sq mi (1,064 km2)
 • Water 3.7 sq mi (10 km2), 0.9%
Population (est.)
 • (2017) 46,388
 • Density 113/sq mi (44/km2)
Congressional district 10th
Time zone Eastern: UTC−5/−4
Website www.co.mifflin.pa.us

Mifflin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 46,682.[1] Its county seat is Lewistown.[2] The county was created on September 19, 1789, from parts of Cumberland County and Northumberland County and named after Thomas Mifflin, the first Governor of Pennsylvania.

Mifflin County comprises the Lewistown, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 415 square miles (1,070 km2), of which 411 square miles (1,060 km2) is land and 3.7 square miles (9.6 km2) (0.9%) is water.[3]

Mifflin County is located in, and has its boundaries defined by, the Ridge-and Valley Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. US Route 322, a major divided highway, connects the county to the rest of the state on its route between Harrisburg and State College. US Route 522 also connects the county to the rest of the state on its route between Selinsgrove and Mount Union.

Adjacent counties

Major Highways

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.%±
17907,562—
180013,60980.0%
181012,132−10.9%
182016,61837.0%
183021,69030.5%
184013,092−39.6%
185014,98014.4%
186016,3409.1%
187017,5087.1%
188019,57711.8%
189019,9962.1%
190023,16015.8%
191027,78520.0%
192031,43913.2%
193040,33528.3%
194042,9936.6%
195043,6911.6%
196044,3481.5%
197045,2682.1%
198046,9083.6%
199046,197−1.5%
200046,4860.6%
201046,6820.4%
Est. 201746,388[4]−0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7]
1990-2000[8] 2010-2013[1]

As of the census[9] of 2010, there were 46,682 people and 18,743 households within the county. The population density was 112.5 people per square mile (44/km²). There were 21,537 housing units at an average density of 51.9 per square mile (19/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.53% White, 0.64% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. 1.14% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.8% were of German, 19.2% American, 8.0% Irish and 7.5% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 5.7% report speaking Pennsylvania German, Dutch, or German at home.

There were 18,743 households out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.60% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.90% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 2.2% from 18 to 19, 5.1% from 20 to 24, 10.4% from 25 to 34, 20.1% from 35 to 49, 20.6% from 50 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. The population was 48.93% male, and 51.07% female.

Amish community

The Amish community in Mifflin County established in 1791, had a total population of 3,905 people (in 30 congregations) in 2017,[10] or 8.5% of the county's population.

Dialect

The dominant form of speech in Mifflin County is the Central Pennsylvania accent. Almost everyone in Mifflin County speaks English. The Amish and some Mennonites speak Pennsylvania German also known as Pennsylvania Dutch, a West Central German dialect, which is quite different from modern Standard German. The Amish and Mennonites also can speak English. Few non-Amish or Mennonites in Mifflin County today speak Pennsylvania German, but this was not true in the past.

Micropolitan Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget[11] has designated Mifflin County as the Lewistown, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area (µSA).[12] As of the 2010 U.S. Census[13] the micropolitan area ranked 10th most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 237th most populous in the United States with a population of 46,682.

Law and government

County Commissioners

Presidential elections results
Presidential Elections Results[14]
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2016 75.3% 14,094 20.7% 3,877 4.0% 750
2012 72.7% 11,939 26.0% 4,273 1.2% 204
2008 65.9% 10,929 32.4% 5,375 1.7% 283
2004 69.8% 11,726 29.1% 4,889 1.1% 187
2000 64.3% 9,400 33.1% 4,835 2.6% 379
1996 50.2% 6,888 38.8% 5,327 11.0% 1,503
1992 42.9% 6,300 33.7% 4,946 23.4% 3,442
1988 62.5% 8,170 36.6% 4,790 0.9% 115
1984 63.4% 9,106 36.0% 5,178 0.6% 89
1980 55.8% 7,541 38.7% 5,226 5.6% 753
1976 54.6% 7,698 44.0% 6,210 1.4% 201
1972 72.1% 9,989 26.5% 3,667 1.4% 199
1968 55.3% 8,133 38.7% 5,681 6.0% 884
1964 40.4% 6,006 59.3% 8,811 0.3% 39
1960 67.9% 10,315 31.7% 4,816 0.5% 72
1956 62.9% 8,638 37.0% 5,078 0.1% 9
1952 59.2% 8,620 40.5% 5,889 0.3% 47
1948 53.8% 5,666 45.3% 4,762 0.9% 95
1944 51.9% 6,205 47.6% 5,693 0.5% 54
1940 47.5% 6,352 52.3% 6,993 0.3% 34
1936 41.6% 6,867 58.0% 9,581 0.5% 77
1932 59.0% 5,525 39.0% 3,654 2.1% 193
1928 87.0% 8,932 12.4% 1,270 0.7% 68
1924 66.9% 4,780 28.0% 1,999 5.1% 364
1920 58.9% 3,872 36.5% 2,400 4.6% 299
1916 47.4% 2,105 44.2% 1,965 8.4% 374
1912 14.6% 654 31.3% 1,400 54.2% 2,426
1908 59.4% 2,902 36.8% 1,799 3.8% 185
1904 66.1% 3,054 29.8% 1,378 4.1% 188
1900 56.5% 2,594 40.1% 1,842 3.4% 157
1896 54.2% 2,662 41.8% 2,052 4.0% 196
1892 49.8% 2,175 46.5% 2,029 3.7% 162
1888 51.5% 2,321 46.2% 2,084 2.3% 105
  • Stephen T. Dunkle (R)
  • Rob Postal (R)
  • Kevin P. Kodish (D)

In August 2016, then County Commissioner Lisa Nancollas, a Tea Party Republican, came under fire for anti-Islamic rhetoric posted to her campaign's Facebook account.[15] She would later go on to resign from her position, in April 2017, being replaced by Rob Postal.[16][17]

State House of Representatives[18]

State Senate[18]

United States House of Representatives

United States Senate

Economy

Major employers in Mifflin County include:

Education

Map of Mifflin County Pennsylvania Public School Districts

Public school districts

Most of the county is served by the Mifflin County School District, with the exception of Wayne Township and the boroughs of Newton-Hamilton and Kistler, which are part of the Mount Union Area School District.

Head Start preschool programs

Head Start is a federally and state funded preschool program for low income children. The program serves 3- and 4-year-olds. In order to participate the family income must be below federal poverty guidelines.

  • Coleman Head Start Center[19]
  • McVeytown Head Start Center

Private schools

  • Sacred Heart provides a private, Catholic education until fifth grade.
  • Belleville Mennonite School, Beth-El Christian Day School, and Valley View Christian School provide Mennonite education through grade twelve.
  • Mifflin County Christian Academy located in Decatur Township provides Christian education from kindergarten through grade twelve as well as day care.
  • Several Old Order Amish schools provide education through grade eight.

Colleges and universities

Mifflin-Juniata Career and Technology Center located in Lewistown provides post high school degrees in nursing, auto mechanics and electrical services and numerous other technology driven careers.

The Lewistown branch of the South Hills School of Business and Technology offers associate degrees and other certifications in various areas of business, technology, and some health care.

The Penn State Learning Center in Lewistown offers both two-year and four-year degrees. Recently, the Learning Center opened a state-of-the-art science lab to be used by students attending the Lewistown Hospital School of Nursing.

Media

Radio stations

AM

FM

Television

Mifflin County does not have a local television station but it is provided with local coverage from the following stations outside of the county from the Harrisburg, Altoona and State College markets:

  • WHTM 27 Harrisburg (27.1 ABC, 27.2 ION, 27.3 GetTV, 27.4 Laff)
  • WPMT 43 York (43.1 FOX, 43.2 AntennaTV)
  • WHP 21 Harrisburg (21.1 CBS, 21.2 MyNetworkTV, 21.3 CW)
  • WGAL 8 Lancaster (8.1 NBC, 8.2 MeTV)
  • WTAJ 10 Altoona (10.1 CBS, 10.2 Escape, 10.3 Laff, 10.4 Grit)
  • WHVL 29 State College (29.1 MyNetworkTV, 29.2 Buzzr)

Newspapers

Sports

Due to close proximity to the University of Penn State, the most popular college sports team in Mifflin County is the Penn State football team. Historically, football has been the most popular high school sport, but over the past decade, the most successful teams have been in boys and girls basketball. In the past, high school wrestling was more popular than basketball. Although basketball is now more popular than wrestling, wrestling remains more popular in Mifflin County and in Central Pennsylvania in general than in most parts of the United States.

The girls field hockey team is one of the most successful high school teams.. As the schools combined, the competition grew harder as they faced the mid Penn conference.

Communities

Map of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing 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 Mifflin County:

Boroughs

Townships

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.

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Mifflin County.[13]

† county seat

Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population (2010 Census)

1 † Lewistown Borough 8,338
2 Burnham Borough 2,054
3 Belleville CDP 1,827
4 Church Hill CDP 1,627
5 Milroy CDP 1,498
6 Highland Park CDP 1,380
7 Yeagertown CDP 1,050
8 Strodes Mills CDP 757
9 Reedsville CDP 641
10 Juniata Terrace Borough 542
11 Allensville CDP 503
12 Granville CDP 440
13 Maitland CDP 357
14 McVeytown Borough 342
15 Kistler Borough 320
16 Mattawana CDP 276
17 Lumber City CDP 255
18 Longfellow CDP 215
19 Newton Hamilton Borough 205
20 Cedar Crest CDP 195
21 Atkinson Mills CDP 174
22 Potlicker Flats CDP 172
23 Barrville CDP 160
24 Alfarata CDP 149
25 Wagner CDP 128
26 Siglerville CDP 106

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  5. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  7. ↑ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 24, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  9. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  10. ↑ The 12 Largest Amish Communities (2017). at Amish America
  11. ↑ "Office of Management and Budget". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  13. 1 2 Promotions, Center for New Media and. "US Census Bureau 2010 Census". www.census.gov. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  14. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  15. ↑ http://abc27.com/2016/08/22/county-commissioner-wont-apologize-for-controversial-facebook-post/
  16. ↑ "Lisa Nancollas resigns as Mifflin County commissioner | News, Sports, Jobs - The Sentinel". www.lewistownsentinel.com. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  17. ↑ "Postal to serve as county commissioner | News, Sports, Jobs - The Sentinel". www.lewistownsentinel.com. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  18. 1 2 Center, Legislativate Data Processing. "Find Your Legislator". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
  19. ↑ Snyder, Union, Mifflin Child Development Report. Feb 2010

Further reading

  • Raymond Martin Bell, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania: Families and Records before 1800. Washington, PA: Raymond Martin Bell, 1987.
  • Raymond Martin Bell, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, in the Revolution, 1775-1783. Washington, PA: Raymond Martin Bell, 1993.
  • Raymond Martin Bell, The Houses of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. Washington, PA: Raymond Martin Bell, 1970.
  • Forest K Fisher, Mifflin County. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008.
  • I. Daniel Rupp, History of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. Laughlintown, PA: Southwest Pennsylvania Genealogical Services, n.d. [1983].
  • John Martin Stroup, The Amish of the Kishacoquillas Valley, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania: When Did They Come, and Why? What of the Future? Lewistown, PA: Mifflin County Historical Society, 1965.
  • John Martin Stroup and Raymond Martin Bell, The Genesis of Mifflin County Pennsylvania: Its Aborigines, Explorers, Early Settlement and Development, Indian Wars and The Revolution, and Formation as a County. Lewistown, PA: Mifflin County Historical Society, 1957.
  • John Martin Stroup and Raymond Martin Bell, The People of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, 1755-1798: Pioneer Settlers and Defenders of the Frontier During the Revolution. Lewistown, PA: Mifflin County Historical Society, 1973.
  • John Martin Stroup and Raymond Martin Bell, The Pioneers of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania: Who's Who in the Early Records with an Account of the Growth of the County before 1790. Lewistown, PA: [Mifflin County Historical Society], 1942.
  • The Cemeteries of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. Lewistown, PA: Mifflin County Historical Society, 1977.
  • Two Hundred Years: A Chronological List of Events in the History of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. Lewistown, PA: Mifflin County Historical Society, 1957.

Coordinates: 40°37′N 77°37′W / 40.61°N 77.62°W / 40.61; -77.62

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