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Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

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Lancaster County
County
Official seal of Lancaster County
Seal
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Map of the United States highlighting Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°02′N 76°15′W / 40.04°N 76.25°W / 40.04; -76.25
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
FoundedMay 10,1729
SeatLancaster
Population
 (2000)
 • Total
470,658
Websitewww.co.lancaster.pa.us

Lancaster County is a county located in the south-central portion of the state of Pennsylvania in the Susquehanna Valley. As of 2004, the population is 487,332. Its county seat is the city of Lancaster6.

The area is most famous for its rich and fertile farmland and is the historic ancestral home of the Amish in the U.S.. The landscape of Lancaster County is mostly flat, with rolling hills, which lends itself to farming. The farmland of Lancaster County is considered to be among the most fertile non-irrigated farmland in the world. Cash value crops include tobacco, soybeans, and maize. There are a large number of dairy and chicken farms as well.

History

The land, part of William Penn's charter, was first settled in 1718. It was part of Chester County, Pennsylvania until May 10,1729 when it became the fourth county in the state. Lancaster County was named after Lancashire, England, the native home of one of the early settlers named John Wright.

Lancaster County is also famous for its many historic covered bridges. Many of the these bridges were built by the Pennsylvania Dutch (Germans) over the last several hundred years.

Further information: List of Lancaster County covered bridges

Law and government

The County government is headed by a board of three Commissioners, one of whom must be from a minority party. This means that, given Lancaster County's strong Republican leanings, two of the Commissioners are usually Republicans and one is usually a Democrat. This is currently the case. However, there have been strong efforts in past elections to get a member of the right-wing Constitution Party elected as the third, "minority" commissioner, though none of these efforts have borne fruit as of 2005. The Current Commissioners are Dick Shellenberger, Molly Henderson, and Pete Shaub.

In addition to the Commissioners, county voters choose a District Attorney, Coroner, Sheriff, Recorder of Deeds, Treasurer and Prothonotary.

Politics

Lancaster County's politics have often not been in sync with the rest of Pennsylvania or with the Northeast as a whole. Even when Pennsylvania strongly supported Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party, Lancaster was something of a Whig Party stronghold. The town and township of Clay are even named after the famous Whig politician Henry Clay. Lancaster supported the Presidential candidacy of native son (and Democrat) James Buchanan in 1856, but has been a Republican stronghold ever since, in spite of the many shifts in party loyalties and geographic bases across the US as a whole in the past 150 years. Thaddeus Stevens, the noted Radical Republican, was Lancaster's Representative in the US House until his death in 1868.

Today's Politics

Today, Lancaster County votes overwhelmingly for GOP candidates in virtually every election for national, state and local candidates. A number of factors may account for this. Lancaster County has a large number of churches (many of them highly Conservative in theology), and the religious right has a great deal of popular support. Also, the County is popularly thought to have a "Pennsylvania Dutch work ethic" and therefore looks unfavorably on welfare programs and the so-called activist government that are associated with the Democratic Party. The local Republican Party also has a great deal of influence on elections, to the extent that it might be called a political machine. Republican strength is greatest in rural and newer suburban areas. Most boroughs elect Republicans to local government as well. However, the city of Lancaster and Columbia are increasingly Democratic, in part due to increasing numbers of minority voters. Some of the older suburbs around Lancaster returned small majorities for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, in part due to the moderate Republican make-up of these suburbs. The county as a whole seemingly only votes for Democratic candidates in situations where the Democratic candidate is Pro-life / anti-abortion and the Republican candidate is Pro-choice / pro-abortion. This situation occurred in the 1990 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial election between pro-life Democratic Governor Robert P. Casey and pro-choice Republican Barbara Hafer, where Lancaster County voters backed Casey for re-election.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,548 km2 (984 mi2). 2,458 km2 (949 mi2) of it is land and 90 km2 (35 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 3.53% water. Lancaster County's western border is the Susquehanna River, and its southern border is the Mason-Dixon line, which separates Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there were 470,658 people, 172,560 households, and 124,070 families residing in the county. The population density was 191/km2 (496/mi2). There were 179,990 housing units at an average density of 73/km2 (190/mi2). The racial makeup of the county was 91.46% White, 2.76% African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.90% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. 5.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There is a traditionally large Christian population. The Mennonites and Amish are the most well-known in the county. Thus, there is a large Pennsylvania Dutch population.

There were 172,560 households out of which 33.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.90% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 23.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.60% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.60 males.

Economy

Agriculture is a crucial part of the local economy. The land in the county is considered to be among the best non-irrigated farmland in the world. Farming plays a large role in the economy even though the number of farms is decreasing due to population growth and suburban sprawl. In general, the area has a lower unemployment rate than the national average.

Municipalities in Lancaster County

Cities

  • Lancaster is the only incorporated city in Lancaster County.

Boroughs

Townships

Unicorporated and Census-designated places

Education

Colleges and universities

File:Lancaster County, PA School District Map.gif
Map of Lancaster County Public School Districts

Public School Districts

General Information

  • Telephone area code: 717
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