Tioga County, Pennsylvania

The county was originally settled by migrants of "Yankee" stock (migrants from New England and the western part of New York who were descended from the English Puritans of colonial New England). With the opening of a rough wagon road to the source of the Tioga River, New England settlers poured over the Allegheny Mountains. Tioga County resembled upstate New York more than it did eastern Pennsylvania, as its population primarily consisted of settlers from New England.[5] Developers and land speculators laid out roads, established post routes, erected public buildings erected and people were invited to move there. The original settlers were entirely of New England origins or were Yankees from upstate New York, whose families had recent ancestors in New England, with migration taking place in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War. Tioga County was largely culturally contiguous with New England culture, which was influential across the Northern Tier of the United States through its migrants.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the county accepted more immigrants from Ireland, Germany and eastern Europe, who came to work in the coal mines. A number of them were Roman Catholic, introducing more diversity into the mixture of religions here.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,137 square miles (2,940 km²), of which 1,134 square miles (2,940 km²) is land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) (0.3%) is water.[6] It is the fourth-largest county in Pennsylvania by land area and fifth-largest by total area. It has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) and average monthly temperatures in Wellsboro range from 22.8 °F in January to 68.2 °F in July.

As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 41,373 people, 15,925 households, and 11,195 families residing in the county. The population density was 36 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 19,893 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.11% White, 0.60% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 0.52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Residents of Tioga County were of 31.9% English, 23.1% German, 10.1% Irish, 6.0% Polish and 5.3% Italian ancestry.

There were 15,925 households, out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.70% under the age of 18, 10.60% from 18 to 24, 25.40% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

Live birth rates

Tioga County's live birth rate was 524 births in 1990. The County's live birth rate in 2000 was 475 births, while by 2011 it had declined to 437 babies.[13] Over the past 50 years (1960 to 2010), rural Pennsylvania saw a steady decline in both the number and proportion of residents under 18 years old. In 1960, 1.06 million rural residents, or 35 percent of the rural population, were children.

County poverty demographics

According to research by The Center for Rural Pennsylvania, which is a legislative Agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the poverty rate for Tioga County was 16.3% in 2014.[14] The statewide poverty rate was 13.6% in 2014. The 2012 childhood poverty rate by school district was: Northern Tioga School District – 44.6% living at 185% or below than the Federal Poverty Level and Southern Tioga School District – 40.6% and Wellsboro Area SD was 31.8%.[15]

Tioga County is one of the most heavily Republican represented counties in Pennsylvania. This has a long history as Abraham Lincoln reportedly received 78.57% of the county's vote in the 1860 Presidential election.[17] Since Abraham Lincoln the county has voted for the non-Republican presidential candidate only two times. The first was Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 run as a Progressive and the second was Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide in 1964.[18] In 2004, George W. Bush received 12,019 votes (68%) to 5,437 votes (31%) for John Kerry. In 2008 John McCain received 62.7% of the vote.[19] In 2006, Rick Santorum and Lynn Swann both had significant victories in Tioga County despite their defeats statewide. The last two sitting Board of Commissioners have been all Republican candidates, and Tioga County is the only county in Pennsylvania with all three sitting commissioners being from a single party. This was due to the success of write in campaigns conducted by Roger Bunn in 2011 and Mark Hamilton in 2015.

In March 2012, the Tioga County Commissioners approved a marcellus shale impact fee ordinance.[20] The Commissioners anticipated $5.5 million to $6 million in annual impact fee revenue. In 2012, under Governor Corbett, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a bill that authorizes an impact fee be collected on marcellus shale wells. Regulations and processes for distribution of the money are governed by the Pennsylvania Utility Commission (PUC). Annual reports on the number of wells and revenues taken in are made public on the PUC website.[21][22]

In 2016, the Pennsylvania Utility Commission lowered the Impact fee on shale gas wells.[23]

The use of the impact shale fee funds is limited by state law to:[24]

• Emergency preparedness and public safety.
• Road, bridge and infrastructure projects.
• Water, storm water and sewer systems and other environmental projects.
• Records management, IT.
• Tax reductions.
• Preservation and reclamation of surface and subsurface waters and water supplies.
• Projects that increase the availability of affordable housing.
• Delivery of social services.
• Judicial services.
• Career and technical centers for training of workers.
• Career and technological centers for training of workers in the oil and gas industry.
• Local or regional planning initiatives under the Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code.

In 2014 Tioga County received an impact fee disbursement of $3,593,564.21 which was among the top seven Pennsylvania counties receiving impact funds. In 2014, there were 839 Marcellus shale wells in Tioga County.[25] Statewide the top county recipient was Washington County which received $6,512,570.65 in 2014.[26]

• 2013 – 672 shale wells, impact fee revenues to Tioga County – $4,363,837.90[27]
• 2012, Tioga County had 811 natural gas wells, or 13% of the state total number of wells[28] About only half of the wells (445) were actually producing gas.[29]

Public transportation is provided by BeST Transit.

There are three Pennsylvania state parks in Tioga County.

• Hills Creek State Park is several miles north of U.S. Route 6 between Wellsboro and Mansfield in Charleston Township.
• Colton Point State Park and Leonard Harrison State Park are both part of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon that is carved by Pine Creek.

Map of Tioga County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Boroughs (red) and Townships (white).

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Tioga County:

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Tioga County, Pennsylvania

• Tioga County, Pennsylvania
• Map 562 *Augmented by Williams, J. H., Taylor, L. E., and Low, D. J. (1993), Surficial geologic map of major glaciated valleys of Bradford, Tioga, and Potter Counties, Pennsylvania, showing locations of wells, test holes, and data-collection sites, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 4th ser., Water Resource Report 68.