| Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Pennsylvania |
|
 Pennsylvania's location in the U.S. |
|
| Statistics | |
| Founded | February 26, 1773 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Greensburg |
| Largest city | Greensburg |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
1,036 sq mi (2,683 km²) 1,025 sq mi (2,655 km²) 11 sq mi (28 km²), 1.05% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
369,993 360/sq mi (139/km²) |
| Website: www.co.westmoreland.pa.us | |
 |
|
Westmoreland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was founded on February 26, 1773, and was the first county in the colony of Pennsylvania west of the Allegheny Mountains. Westmoreland County originally included the present-day counties of Fayette, Washington, Greene, and parts of Beaver, Allegheny, Indiana, and Armstrong counties. At the 2000 census, the population was 369,993. The county seat is Greensburg[1][page needed]. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area, while eastern Westmoreland County borders the Johnstown Metro Area. A major coal strike occurred in the county in the winter of 1910-1911.
Contents |
Politics and government
As of November 2008, there are 249,147 registered voters in Westmoreland County [1].
- Democratic: 136,882 (54.94%)
- Republican: 87,813 (35.25%)
- Other Parties: 24,452 (9.81%)
The Democratic Party has been historically dominant in county-level and national politics and continues to hold the commissioner majority and all county row offices, however Westmoreland has trended Republican at the national and statewide levels. In 2000, Republican George W. Bush won 51% and Democrat Al Gore won 45%. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush won 56% and Democrat John Kerry won 43%. In 2008, Republican John McCain won 57% to Democrat Barack Obama's 41%. Governor Ed Rendell lost Westmoreland in both 2002 and 2006. In 2008 Republican Tim Krieger picked up the 57th House district left open by the retirement of Democrat Tom Tangretti.
County commissioners
- Tom Balya, Democrat
- Tom Ceraso, Democrat
- Charles Anderson, Republican
Other county officials
- Clerk of Courts, David L. Patterson, Democrat
- Controller, Carmen Pedicone, Democrat
- Coroner, Kenneth Bacha, Democrat
- District Attorney, John Peck, Democrat
- Prothonotary, Ron Diehl, Democrat
- Recorder of Deeds, Tom Murphy, Democrat
- Register of Wills, Earl S. Keim II, Democrat
- Sheriff, Chris Scherer, Democrat
- Treasurer, Kathalyn O'Brien, Democrat
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
| District | Representative | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Joseph Markosek | Democrat |
| 52 | Deberah Kula | Democrat |
| 54 | John E. Pallone | Democrat |
| 55 | Joseph A. Petrarca | Democrat |
| 56 | James E. Casorio | Democrat |
| 57 | Tim Krieger | Republican |
| 58 | R. Ted Harhai | Democrat |
| 59 | Mike Reese | Republican |
Pennsylvania State Senate
| District | Senator | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | Rich Kasunic | Democrat |
| 38 | Jim Ferlo | Democrat |
| 39 | Kim Ward | Republican |
| 41 | Donald C. White | Republican |
| 45 | Sean Logan | Democrat |
| 46 | J. Barry Stout | Democrat |
United States House of Representatives
| District | Representative | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Jason Altmire | Democrat |
| 12 | John Murtha | Democrat |
| 18 | Tim Murphy | Republican |
United States Senate
| Senator | Party |
|---|---|
| Arlen Specter | Democrat |
| Bob Casey | Democrat |
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,036 square miles (2,684 km²), of which, 1,025 square miles (2,656 km²) of it is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) of it (1.05%) is water.
Adjacent counties
- Armstrong County (north)
- Indiana County (northeast)
- Cambria County (east)
- Somerset County (southeast)
- Fayette County (south)
- Washington County (southwest)
- Allegheny County (west)
- Butler County (northwest)
 |
Butler County | Armstrong County | Indiana County | |
| Allegheny County |  |
Cambria County | ||
 Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania  |
||||
 |
||||
| Washington County | Fayette County | Somerset County |
Demographics
As of the census[4][page needed] of 2000, there were 369,993 people, 149,813 households, and 104,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 361 people per square mile (139/km²). There were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile (61/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.58% White, 2.01% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. 0.51% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.7% were of German, 18.5% Italian, 9.7% Irish, 8.9% Polish, 6.7% English, 5.2% Slovak and 5.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 149,813 households out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the county, the population was spread out with 22.00% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 18.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.70 males.
Municipalities
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 Westmoreland County:
Cities
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.
Education
Public School Districts
- Belle Vernon Area School District (Also in Fayette County)
- Blairsville-Saltsburg School District (Also in Indiana County)
- Burrell School District
- Derry Area School District
- Franklin Regional School District
- Greater Latrobe School District
- Greensburg-Salem School District
- Hempfield Area School District
- Jeannette City School District
- Kiski Area School District
- Leechburg Area School District
- Ligonier Valley School District
- Monessen City School District
- Mount Pleasant Area School District
- New Kensington-Arnold School District
- Norwin School District
- Penn-Trafford School District (Also in Allegheny County)
- Southmoreland School District (Also in Fayette County)
- Yough School District
Private High School
Notable residents
See also: Category:People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
- David Alter, born in Westmoreland County, noted inventor[5]
- Pete Babando, former NHL Hockey player, played for 1950 Stanley Cup champions Detroit Red Wings, born in Braeburn neighborhood of the City of Lower Burrell.
- George Blanda, Hall of Fame football player, born in Youngwood.
- Johnny Costa, jazz pianist, was born and raised in Arnold.
- Hutton Gibson, writer and father of actor Mel Gibson
- Shirley Jones, Academy Award-winning actress and singer, grew up in Smithton.
- Bill Mazeroski, Hall of Fame baseball player
- Michael Moorer, boxer
- Arnold Palmer, golfer, was born and raised in Latrobe.
- Fred Rogers, television personality, was born and raised in Latrobe.
- Willie Thrower, football player, was born and raised in New Kensington.
Recreation
There are four Pennsylvania state parks in Westmoreland County.
See also
References
-
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&_county=Westmoreland+County&_cityTown=Westmoreland+County&_state=05000US42129
- ^ http://www.mapzones.org/Westmoreland_County_Pennsylvania.html
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who. 1967.
External links
- Westmoreland County
- InWestmoreland - A directory of Westmoreland County
- Westmoreland County Historical Society
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
