Bedford County, Pennsylvania

Bedford County is a located in the  of. As of the, the population was 49,984. The is. The of  is located in the eastern edge. It is part of the.

History
Robert MacRay opened the first trading post in (which is now Bedford) on the land that is now Bedford County in. The settlers had a difficult time dealing with raids from Indians and the fighting between the French and the British.

In, after the capture of in , a road was built between the fort (which was renamed to ) to the newly built  in Raystown. The road turned from Indian trails, into "Forbes Road", and still later into the.

Bedford County was created on, from part of  and named in honor of the Fort Bedford.

The area quickly increased in population once safety became more established. The land with its lush farmland and woodland became an attractive site. It also formed an important center on the way to and farther west of Pennsylvania. stayed in the county in response to the in.

The became an important site for the wealthy. Under President, the hotel became the summer. The met at the hotel once. It was the only time that the high court met outside of the.

The featured a population boom in the county with the population doubling in size between  and. s passing through the town connected the county with the industry.


 * A road in offers an example of the "" phenomenon.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,635 (1,017 ). 2,628 km² (1,015 sq mi) of it is land and 7 km² (3 sq mi) of it (0.28%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Geology


Bedford County is situated along the western border of the, which is characterized by folded and faulted s of early to middle  age. The northwestern border of the county is approximately at the, a geological boundary between the Ridge and Valley Province and the (characterized by relatively flat-lying s of late  age). (PA Geologic Survey Map 13)

The stratigraphic record of sedimentary rocks within the county spans from the Warrior Formation to the  Conemaugh Group (in the Broad Top area). No igneous or metamorphic rocks of any kind exist within the county.

The primary mountains within the county (From west to east:, , , and mountains) extend from the southern border with  to the northeast into , and are held up by the  , made of quartz  and. Chestnut Ridge is a broad held up by the  Ridgeley Member of the Old Port Formation, also made of  and. Broad Top, located north of Breezewood, is a plateau of relatively flat-lying rocks that are stratigraphically higher, and thus younger ( and ), than most of the other rocks within the county ( through ). Broad Top extends into to the north and  to the east.

The Raystown Branch of the is the main drainage in the northern two-thirds of the county. The river flows to the east through the mountains within the county through several water gaps caused by a group of faults trending east-west through the central part of the county. The river then turns north and flows into in. The southern third of the county is drained by several tributaries of the. Both the Potomac and Juniata rivers are part of the Watershed.

Several limestone quarries exist in Bedford County, most of which are owned and operated by New Enterprise Stone and Lime Company. Quarry locations include Ashcom, New Paris, Kilcoin, and Sproul. .

Two coal fields exist within Bedford County. One is the Broad Top Field in the northeastern corner of the county, and the other is the Georges Creek Field along the southwestern border. Both fields contain bituminous coal. There are abandoned mines in both areas and is an environmental problem in the Broad Top area, where several fishless streams exist as a result of the discharge from the abandoned mines. .

Natural gas fields and storage areas exist in southeastern Bedford County, primarily within folded rocks south of. Another deep gas field exists in the vicinity of on the border with  to the north. (PA Geologic Survey Map 10)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 49,984 people, 19,768 households, and 14,489 families residing in the county. The was 19/km² (49/sq mi). There were 23,529 housing units at an average density of 9/km² (23/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 98.54%, 0.36% or , 0.11% , 0.29% , 0.01% , 0.16% from , and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.53% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 19,768 households out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.70% were living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were non-families. 23.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.60% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males.

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

Public School Districts

 * (also in Blair County)
 * (also in Huntingdon County)
 * (also in Blair County)
 * (also in Huntingdon County)
 * (also in Huntingdon County)
 * (also in Huntingdon County)

Recreation
There are 3 in Bedford County.
 * site of the Blue Knob All Seasons Resort