Columbia County, Pennsylvania

Columbia County, Pennsylvania
Location in the state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 22, 1813
Seat	Bloomsburg
Largest city	Bloomsburg
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	490 sq mi (1,269 km²) 486 sq mi (1,259 km²) 4 sq mi (10 km²), 0.87%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	67,295 138/sq mi (53.4/km²)
Website	www.columbiapa.org

Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 67,295.

Columbia County was created on March 22, 1813, from part of Northumberland County and named for Columbia, a poetic name for the United States that alludes to Christopher Columbus. Its county seat is Bloomsburg^[1].

The county is part of the Bloomsburg–Berwick Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Politics and government

As of November 2008, there are 47,252 registered voters in Columbia County [1].

• Democratic: 20,961 (44.36%)
• Republican: 19,438 (41.14%)
• Other Parties: 6,853 (14.50%)

While the county registration tends to be evenly matched between Democrats and Republicans, the county trends Republican in statewide elections. While John McCain received 51.6% of its vote to 47.1% for Barack Obama, this was a far-closer margin than the 20 points that George W. Bush carried it by in 2004. Each of the three row-office statewide winners carried Columbia in 2008. In 2006, Democrat Bob Casey Jr. received 51% of its vote when he unseated incumbent Republican US Senator Rick Santorum and Ed Rendell received 50.6% of the vote against Lynn Swann.

For many years Columbia County was represented in the State House by a conservative Democrat in the 109th district until John Gordner changed parties to Republican in 2001. He was elected to the State Senate in 2003 and succeeded by Republican David R. Millard. Columbia is in the 27th Senate district and 11th Congressional district.

County commissioners

• David Kovach, Democrat
• Bill Soberick, Republican
• Chris Young, Republican

Other county officials

• Chief Clerk, Gail Kipp, Democrat
• Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Tami B. Kline, Republican
• Coroner, Lori Masteller, Republican
• District Attorney, Gary Norton, Republican
• Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills, Beverly Michael, Democrat
• Sheriff, Tim Chamberlain, Democrat
• Treasurer, Shirley Turner, Republican

Pennsylvania State Senate

District	Senator	Party
27	John Gordner	Republican

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

District	Senator	Party
107	Kurt Masser	Republican
109	David R. Millard	Republican
117	Karen Boback	Republican

United States House of Representatives

District	Representative	Party
11	Lou Barletta	Republican Party

United States Senate

Senator	Party
Pat Toomey	Republican
Bob Casey	Democrat

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 490 square miles (1,269.1 km²), of which 486 square miles (1,258.7 km²) is land and 4 square miles (10.4 km²) (0.87%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Sullivan County (north)
• Luzerne County (east)
• Schuylkill County (south)
• Northumberland County (southwest)
• Montour County (west)
• Lycoming County (northwest)

State Park

Part of Ricketts Glen State Park is in the northern portion of Columbia County.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1820	17,621		—
1830	20,059		13.8%
1840	24,267		21.0%
1850	17,710		−27.0%
1860	25,065		41.5%
1870	28,766		14.8%
1880	32,409		12.7%
1890	36,832		13.6%
1900	39,896		8.3%
1910	48,467		21.5%
1920	48,349		−0.2%
1930	48,803		0.9%
1940	51,413		5.3%
1950	53,460		4.0%
1960	53,489		0.1%
1970	55,114		3.0%
1980	61,967		12.4%
1990	63,202		2.0%
2000	64,148		1.5%
2010	67,295		4.9%
[2][3]

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 64,151 people, 24,915 households, and 16,568 families residing in the county. The population density was 132 people per square mile (51/km²). There were 27,733 housing units at an average density of 57 per square mile (22/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.59% White, 0.80% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 33.2% were of German, 10.0% American, 9.4% Irish, 8.1% Italian, 6.7% Polish and 6.2% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 24,915 households out of which 27.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.80% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county, the population was spread out with 20.80% under the age of 18, 14.30% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.80 males.

Municipalities

Map of Columbia County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Towns 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 town, boroughs and townships are located in Columbia County:

Town

• Bloomsburg

Boroughs

Ashland (partial) Benton Berwick

Briar Creek Catawissa Centralia

Millville Orangeville Stillwater

Townships

Beaver Township Benton Township Briar Creek Township Catawissa Township Cleveland Township Conyngham Township Fishing Creek Township Franklin Township

Greenwood Township Hemlock Township Jackson Township Locust Township Madison Township Main Township Mifflin Township Montour Township

Mount Pleasant Township North Centre Township Orange Township Pine Township Roaring Creek Township Scott Township South Centre Township Sugarloaf Township

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.

Almedia Aristes Buckhorn Espy Eyers Grove Fernville Foundryville Iola

Jamison City Jerseytown Jonestown Lightstreet Lime Ridge Locustdale Mainville Mifflinville

Numidia Rohrsburg Rupert Slabtown Waller Wilburton Number One Wilburton Number Two

Map of Columbia County, Pennsylvania School Districts

Education

Colleges and universities

• Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Public School Districts

• Benton Area School District
• Berwick Area School District (also in Luzerne County)
• Bloomsburg Area School District
• Central Columbia School District
• Millville Area School District
• Mount Carmel Area School District (also in Northumberland County)
• North Schuylkill School District (also in Schuylkill County)
• Southern Columbia Area School District (also in Northumberland County)

Public Vo-Tech Schools

• Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School

See also

• List of municipal authorities in Columbia County, Pennsylvania
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Columbia County, Pennsylvania

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov
3. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

Coordinates: 41°03′N 76°24′W / 41.05°N 76.40°W / 41.05; -76.40