Armstrong County, Pennsylvania facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Armstrong County
U.S. county
Armstrong County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Founded	March 12, 1800
Named for	John Armstrong
Seat	Kittanning
Largest borough	Kittanning
Area
• Total	664 sq mi (1,720 km2)
• Land	653 sq mi (1,690 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  1.6%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	65,558
• Density	100/sq mi (40/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	15th
Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Designated:	October 15, 1982

The Crooked Creek Lake Recreation Area is a dam, reservoir, and park near Ford City in Armstrong County.

Armstrong County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,558. The county seat is Kittanning. The county was organized on March 12, 1800, from parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland and Lycoming Counties. It was named in honor of John Armstrong, who represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress and served as a major general during the Revolutionary War.

Armstrong County is included in the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The County was named after John Armstrong, who served as a brigadier general and major general in the Revolutionary War.

Armstrong County is home to the City of Parker, an incorporated third-class city, which was an oil boom town with a population rumored to be approximately 20,000 in 1873, but now is the "Smallest City in America" with a population of just under 800. Parker is located in the extreme northwest portion of the county.

Iron was made in the Brady's Bend area of the county twenty years before there was a foundry in Pittsburgh doing so. Ford City is home to the plate-glass industry, as John Ford created the company which later became Pittsburgh Plate Glass.

Kittanning once boasted more millionnaires than anywhere else in Pennsylvania during the 1880s.

Leechburg was the first place in the United States to use natural gas for metallurgical purposes, in 1869. Natural gas was found while drilling for oil, and eventually introduced into the boilers and furnaces of Siberian Iron Works here.

Freeport, Leechburg and Apollo were communities built along the Pennsylvania Canal, which passed through on the Allegheny and Kiskiminetas rivers, at the southern border of the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 664 square miles (1,720 km²), of which 653 square miles (1,690 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (1.6%) is water.

Streams

The Allegheny and Kiskiminetas rivers; Buffalo, Crooked, Cowanshannock, Redbank, and Mahoning creeks; and Carnahan Run, among others, have watersheds within the county. The Murphy, Nicholson, Ross, and Cogley islands are in the Allegheny in Armstrong County.

Adjacent counties

• Clarion County (north)
• Jefferson County (northeast)
• Indiana County (east)
• Westmoreland County (south)
• Allegheny County (southwest)
• Butler County (west)
• Venango County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 72,392 people, 29,005 households, and 20,535 families residing in the county. The population density was 111 people per square mile (43/km²). There were 32,387 housing units at an average density of 50 per square mile (19/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.32% White, 0.82% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. 0.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 34.6% were of German, 10.8% Italian, 9.3% Irish, 8.7% American, 7.4% English and 5.7% Polish ancestry.

There were 29,005 households, out of which 29.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.20% were non-families. 25.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.95.

The distribution of the age of the population in the county was 22.90% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.10 males.

Communities

Map of Armstrong 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 Armstrong County:

City

• Parker

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.

• Kiskimere
• Lenape Heights
• North Vandergrift
• Orchard Hills
• Pleasant View
• Templeton
• West Hills

Former community

• Barnard

Population ranking

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

† county seat

Education

Map of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts

Colleges and universities

• Indiana University of Pennsylvania Northpointe - South Buffalo Township

Public school districts

• Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District (part)
• Apollo-Ridge School District
• Armstrong School District (part, 2 high schools)
• Freeport Area School District (part)
• Karns City Area School District
• Kiski Area School District (part)
• Leechburg Area School District (part)
• Redbank Valley School District (part)

Technology school

• Lenape Technical School - Ford City

Private schools

As reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Education - EdNA. April 2012.

• Adelphoi Village Miller Home - Apollo
• Divine Redeemer School - Ford City
• Dry Knob Amish School - Smicksburg
• Evangelical Lutheran School - Worthington
• Grace Christian School - Kittanning
• Meadow View School - Dayton
• Model Education Program - Kittanning
• New Bethlehem Wesleyan Methodist School - New Bethlehem
• Orchard Hills Christian Academy - Apollo
• Owl Hollow Amish School - Smicksburg
• Shady Lane Amish School - Smicksburg
• Shady Run Amish School - Smicksburg
• Stony Acres Amish School - Smicksburg
• Stony Flat Amish School - Smicksburg
• United Cerebral Palsy Of Western Pennsylvania - Spring Church
• Whippoorwill School - Smicksburg
• Worthington Baptist Christian School - Worthington

Libraries

There are six public libraries in Armstrong County:

• Apollo Memorial Library - Apollo, PA
• Ford City Public Library - Ford City, PA
• Freeport Area Library - Freeport, PA
• Kittanning Public Library - Kittanning, PA
• Leechburg Public Library - Leechburg, PA
• Worthington West Franklin Community Library - Worthington, PA

Famous People

Politics

John Armstrong Sr. - namesake of Armstrong County, civil engineer, American military general, Battle of Kittanning

William F. Johnston - Armstrong County Bar Association, abolitionist, 11th Governor of Pennsylvania 1848-1852, namesake of Johnston Ave. in Kittanning

Joseph Buffington - Judge, US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, US Circuit Courts for the Third Circuit, and US District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

John R. Phillips, Leechburg native, U.S. Ambassador to Italy

Andrew Jackson Faulk - born in Kittanning, third Governor of the Dakota Territory

George L. Shoup, First governor of Idaho, United States senator

US Congress: Samuel S. Harrison, Joseph Buffington Sr., Darwin Phelps, David Barclay, Joseph Grant Beale Daniel Brodhead Heiner, Jason Altmire

PA State Senators: Eben Kelley, Donald C. White, Albert Pechan

PA State Legislature: John S. Rhey, J. Alexander Fulton, John K. Calhoun, Franklin Mechling, Samuel B. Cochran, Timothy Pesci, Jeff Pyle, Abby Major

PA Supreme Court: James Thompson

John Gilpin - PA Constitutional Convention of 1873; namesake for Gilpin Township

John F. Hunter, Ohio state legislature

Military

Donald R. Lobaugh, Freeport native, U.S. Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II

Raymond Harvey, Ford City native, Medal of Honor recipient in Korean War

Science

David Alter - Freeport, PA medical doctor; scientist; inventor of spectrum analysis, the idea that every element has its own emission spectrum: a breakthrough development in spectroscopy. The published article was: On Certain Physical Properties of Light Produced by the Combustion of Different Metals in an Electric Spark Refracted by a Prism published 1854

Sports

Ed Hobaugh - Kittanning native, MLB baseball player from Kittanning; right-hand pitcher for Washington Senators 1961-63

Mickey Morandini, Leechburg an MLB second baseman and coach, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Toronto Blue Jays. His career highlights include selection as a 1995 National League (NL) All-Star, playing for the Phillies in the 1993 NL Championship Series and World Series, and appearing for the Cubs in the 1998 NL Division Series. Also played for USA baseball in the 1988 Olympic Games is Seoul.

Dick Starr, major league pitcher, 1947-1951, New York Yankees, Washington Senators

Red Bowser, Freeport native, outfielder in Major League Baseball

Broc Hepler - Kittanning native, professional motorcross racing

Ryan Hemphill, Apollo native, NASCAR driver

Alex Kroll, professional football player for New York Titans (later Jets) and CEO of Young & Rubicam

Jack Lambert - American Football 4-time Superbowl champion All-Pro linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers

Eric Ravotti, former NFL (Steeler) linebacker

Mitch Frerotte - an American professional football player who played as a guard for four seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

Gus Frerotte - former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tulsa.

Bud Carson, former NFL coach, Steelers Defensive Coordinator for first two Superbowl wins, helped develop the "Steel Curtain"

Greg Christy, played at Freeport High School, American football player, Buffalo Bills

Jeff Christy, played at Freeport High School, American football player, center for the Arizona Cardinals, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1992-2003

Nick Bowers, NFL tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders, Kittanning native

Tim Levcik, American football player

Zigmund "Red" Mihalik, Hall of Fame basketball official

Other

Teri Hope, actress

Ralph Patt, jazz guitarist

Don Taylor, actor and director

Nellie Bly, Apollo native, journalist and adventurer, widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days and investigative journalism

David Coulter, banker

Chris Valasek, computer security expert

Michael Yates, economist and magazine editor

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Armstrong (Pensilvania) para niños