Blair County, Pennsylvania facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Blair County
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Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg
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Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania's location within the U.S. |
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| Country |  United States |
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| State |  Pennsylvania |
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| Founded | February 26, 1846 | ||
| Seat | Hollidaysburg | ||
| Largest city | Altoona | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 527 sq mi (1,360 km2) | ||
| • Land | 526 sq mi (1,360 km2) | ||
| • Water | 1.3 sq mi (3 km2) 0.2% | ||
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 122,822 | ||
| • Density | 234/sq mi (90/km2) | ||
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) | ||
| Congressional district | 13th | ||
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Pennsylvania Historical Marker
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| Designated: | April 13, 1982 | ||
Blair County is a county in the state of Pennsylvania. In 2020, about 122,822 people lived there. The main town, or county seat, is Hollidaysburg. The biggest city is Altoona.
Blair County was created on February 26, 1846. It was formed from parts of Huntingdon and Bedford counties. This county is part of the Southwest Pennsylvania region.
Blair County is also part of the Altoona, PA metro area. This means it's a busy area with a big city and nearby towns that are connected.
Contents
About the Land
The U.S. Census Bureau says Blair County covers about 527 square miles. Most of this is land (526 square miles), and a small part (1.3 square miles) is water. Blair County is part of the Appalachian Regional Commission, which helps with economic development in the Appalachian region.
Landmarks and Nature
Blair County has some interesting natural features:
- Brush Mountain
- Logan Valley
- Morrison Cove
- Tussey Mountain
Neighboring Counties
Blair County shares borders with these other counties:
- Centre County (to the north)
- Huntingdon County (to the east)
- Bedford County (to the south)
- Cambria County (to the west)
- Clearfield County (to the northwest)
Special Protected Areas
Part of the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site is located in Blair County. This site protects an important historical railroad.
Main Roads
Many important roads run through Blair County:
I-99 / US 220
US 22
US 220 Bus.
PA 36
PA 164
PA 350
PA 453
PA 550
PA 764
PA 865
PA 866
PA 867
PA 867 Truck
Weather
Blair County has a humid continental climate with warm summers. This means it has all four seasons, with warm summers and cold, snowy winters.
| Climate data for Altoona | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 78 (26) |
76 (24) |
85 (29) |
91 (33) |
94 (34) |
97 (36) |
103 (39) |
102 (39) |
96 (36) |
90 (32) |
82 (28) |
12 (−11) |
103 (39) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 31.9 (−0.1) |
34.6 (1.4) |
44.7 (7.1) |
57.8 (14.3) |
67.6 (19.8) |
77.1 (25.1) |
81.4 (27.4) |
80.3 (26.8) |
72.3 (22.4) |
61.3 (16.3) |
49.4 (9.7) |
37.1 (2.8) |
57.9 (14.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 15.6 (−9.1) |
17.7 (−7.9) |
25.5 (−3.6) |
36.6 (2.6) |
46.8 (8.2) |
54.9 (12.7) |
60.2 (15.7) |
58.4 (14.7) |
51.3 (10.7) |
41.4 (5.2) |
32.1 (0.1) |
21.9 (−5.6) |
38.5 (3.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −29 (−34) |
−25 (−32) |
−7 (−22) |
8 (−13) |
20 (−7) |
32 (0) |
38 (3) |
34 (1) |
26 (−3) |
15 (−9) |
0 (−18) |
−13 (−25) |
−29 (−34) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.64 (67) |
2.43 (62) |
3.48 (88) |
3.63 (92) |
4.30 (109) |
4.08 (104) |
4.14 (105) |
3.50 (89) |
3.85 (98) |
3.43 (87) |
3.71 (94) |
3.11 (79) |
42.64 (1,083) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 11.2 (28) |
14.3 (36) |
16.9 (43) |
2.5 (6.4) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
3.3 (8.4) |
12.1 (31) |
60.6 (154) |
| Source: Pennsylvania State Climatologist | |||||||||||||
Who Lives Here?
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1850 | 21,777 | — | |
| 1860 | 27,829 | 27.8% | |
| 1870 | 38,051 | 36.7% | |
| 1880 | 52,740 | 38.6% | |
| 1890 | 70,866 | 34.4% | |
| 1900 | 85,099 | 20.1% | |
| 1910 | 108,858 | 27.9% | |
| 1920 | 128,334 | 17.9% | |
| 1930 | 139,840 | 9.0% | |
| 1940 | 140,358 | 0.4% | |
| 1950 | 139,519 | −0.6% | |
| 1960 | 137,270 | −1.6% | |
| 1970 | 135,356 | −1.4% | |
| 1980 | 136,621 | 0.9% | |
| 1990 | 130,542 | −4.4% | |
| 2000 | 129,144 | −1.1% | |
| 2010 | 127,089 | −1.6% | |
| 2020 | 122,822 | −3.4% | |
In 2000, there were about 127,089 people living in Blair County. The population density was about 246 people per square mile. Most people (96.18%) were White. About 1.68% were Black or African American, and other groups made up smaller percentages. About 0.97% of the population was Hispanic or Latino. Many people had German, Irish, or Italian backgrounds.
In 2000, about 28.4% of households had children under 18. The average age of people in the county was 40 years old.
2020 Census Information
Here's a look at the different groups of people living in Blair County in 2020:
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 113,016 | 92% |
| Black or African American (not Hispanic) | 2,463 | 2% |
| Native American (not Hispanic) | 134 | 0.1% |
| Asian (not Hispanic) | 868 | 0.7% |
| Pacific Islander (not Hispanic) | 12 | 0.01% |
| Other/Mixed (not Hispanic) | 4,621 | 3.76% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,708 | 1.4% |
Learning in Blair County
Blair County has many options for education, from colleges to public and private schools.
Colleges and Universities
- Penn State Altoona
Community and Technical Colleges
- South Hills School of Business and Technology
- YTI Career Institute
- Pennsylvania Highlands Community College
Public School Districts
These are the public school districts in Blair County:
- Altoona Area School District
- Bellwood-Antis School District
- Claysburg-Kimmel School District (also in Bedford County)
- Hollidaysburg Area School District
- Penn Cambria School District (also in Cambria County)
- Spring Cove School District
- Tyrone Area School District (also in Centre and Huntingdon Counties)
- Williamsburg Community School District
Charter Schools
- Agora Cyber Charter School
- Central Pennsylvania Digital Learning Foundation Charter School (for grades K-12) in Altoona.
Technology School
- Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center in Altoona helps students learn job skills.
Private Schools
There are many private schools in Blair County:
- Alternative Education Program - Hollidaysburg
- Holy Trinity Middle School - Altoona
- Holy Trinity Elementary School - Altoona Campus
- Holy Trinity Elementary School - Hollidaysburg Campus
- Altoona Hospital School of Nursing
- Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School - Altoona
- Blair County Christian School - Duncansville
- Champion Life Christian Academy - Altoona
- Cove Lane Parochial School - Martinsburg
- Crawford Elementary at Adelphoi Village
- Emmanuel Baptist Christian School - Claysburg
- Faith Tabernacle School - Altoona
- Great Commission Schools - Altoona
- Harbor House Center Early Academy - Altoona
- Heritage Christian School - Martinsburg
- Hollidaysburg Catholic School - Hollidaysburg
- Living Water Christian Academy - Williamsburg
- Northwestern Human Services Autism School
- Penn Mont Academy - Hollidaysburg
- Penn Mont at Penn State Altoona
- Piney Creek Parochial School - New Enterprise
- Shady Grove School - Martinsburg
- Shady Pond School - Altoona
- St John Evangelist School - Altoona
- St Matthew School - Tyrone
- St Patrick School - Newry
- Sylvan Learning Center - Hollidaysburg
- Tender Love for Children - Altoona
- The Nehemiah Project - Altoona
- Training & Development Tech - Hollidaysburg
- White Oak School - Tyrone
Libraries
Blair County has a system of nine libraries. You can use one library card to borrow books from any of them. Books can even be sent from one library to another for you to pick up!
- Altoona Area Public Library - Altoona
- Bellwood Antis Public Library - Bellwood
- Blair County Library System - Altoona
- Claysburg Area Public Library - Claysburg
- Hollidaysburg Area Public Library - Hollidaysburg
- Martinsburg Community Library - Martinsburg
- Roaring Spring Community Library - Roaring Spring
- Tyrone-Snyder Twnshp Pub Library - Tyrone
- Williamsburg Public Library - Williamsburg
Fun and Recreation
You can find one Pennsylvania state park in Blair County. It's called Canoe Creek State Park and is located in Frankstown Township. It's a great place for outdoor activities!
Towns and Communities
In Pennsylvania, there are different types of towns and cities. Blair County has cities, boroughs, and townships.
City
Boroughs
These are smaller towns called boroughs:
- Bellwood
- Duncansville
- Hollidaysburg (this is the county seat)
- Martinsburg
- Newry
- Roaring Spring
- Tunnelhill (mostly in Cambria County)
- Tyrone
- Williamsburg
Townships
Townships are another type of local government area, often covering larger, less populated regions:
- Allegheny
- Antis
- Blair
- Catharine
- Frankstown
- Freedom
- Greenfield
- Huston
- Juniata
- Logan
- North Woodbury
- Snyder
- Taylor
- Tyrone
- Woodbury
Census-Designated Places (CDPs)
These are areas that the U.S. Census Bureau names for collecting data. They are not officially governed towns.
- Bald Eagle
- Beavertown
- Blue Knob
- Brooks Mill
- Canan Station
- Canoe Creek
- Carson Valley
- Charlottsville
- Clappertown
- Claysburg
- Cotton Town
- Cove Forge
- Cross Keys
- Culp
- Curryville
- Dumb Hundred
- East Altoona
- East Freedom
- East Sharpsburg
- Elberta
- Eldorado
- Fisherville
- Foot of Ten
- Fort Fetter
- Fostoria
- Franklin Forge
- Frankstown
- Fredericksburg
- Friesville
- Ganister
- Geeseytown
- Gray
- Grazierville
- Greenwood
- Henrietta
- Homewood at Martinsburg
- Ironville
- Jugtown
- Juniata Gap
- Klahr
- Lakemont
- Larke
- Leamersville
- Linds Crossing
- Loop
- Martinsburg Junction
- McKee
- Mill Run
- Millerstown
- Moores Mill
- Nealmont
- Newburg
- Northwood
- Olivia
- Ore Hill
- Oreminea
- Penn Farms
- Pinecroft
- Point View
- Puzzletown
- Red Hill
- Reese
- Reightown
- Reservoir
- Robeson Extension
- Roots
- Royer
- Shelltown
- Shellytown
- Sickles Corner
- Skelp
- Ski Gap
- Smith Corner
- Spring Drive Mobile Home Park
- Sproul
- St. Clair
- Sunbrook
- Sylvan Hills
- Tipton
- Tyrone Forge
- Vail
- Vicksburg
- Wopsononock
- Yellow Springs
Population Ranking
This table shows the biggest cities and towns in Blair County based on the 2010 census.
† county seat
| Rank | City/Town/etc. | Population (2010 Census) | Type of Place | Year Established |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Altoona | 46,320 | City | 1854 (as a borough), 1868 (as a city) |
| 2 | † Hollidaysburg | 5,791 | Borough | 1836 |
| 3 | Tyrone | 5,477 | Borough | 1857 |
| 4 | Bellwood | 3,564 | Borough | 1898 |
| 5 | Roaring Spring | 2,585 | Borough | 1888 |
| 6 | Greenwood | 2,458 | CDP | |
| 7 | Martinsburg | 1,958 | Borough | 1832 |
| 8 | Lakemont | 1,868 | CDP | |
| 9 | Claysburg | 1,625 | CDP | |
| 10 | Williamsburg | 1,254 | Borough | 1827 |
| 11 | Duncansville | 1,233 | Borough | 1891 |
| 12 | Tipton | 1,083 | CDP | |
| 13 | East Freedom | 972 | CDP | |
| 14 | Foot of Ten | 672 | CDP | |
| 15 | Grazierville | 665 | CDP | |
| 16 | Tunnelhill (mostly in Cambria County) | 363 | Borough | 1876 |
| 17 | Northwood | 296 | CDP | |
| 18 | Newry | 270 | Borough | 1876 |
Images for kids
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Flag of Blair County
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Seal of Blair County
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Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg
See also
In Spanish: Condado de Blair para niños
