Somerset County, Pennsylvania

Somerset County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 80,023. Somerset County was created on April 17, 1795 from part of and named for,. Its is. It is part of the.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,800 (1,081 ). 2,783 km² (1,075 sq mi) of it is land and 17 km² (7 sq mi) of it (0.60%) is water.

Somerset County is one of the snowiest inhabited locations in the United States, with parts of the county averaging 200+ inches of snow each winter. The county's elevation above sea level relative to surrounding areas causes snow from both Atlantic Ocean Nor'easters and Great Lakes lake effect to fall from October through early April. Snow has been recorded in Somerset County in every month except July, although local lore has it that even July saw snow in 1816, "the year without a summer."

Adjacent counties

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

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 80,023 people, 31,222 households, and 22,042 families residing in the county. The was 29/km² (74/sq mi). There were 37,163 housing units at an average density of 13/km² (35/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 97.39%, 1.59% or , 0.08% , 0.21% , 0.01% , 0.31% from , and 0.40% from two or more races. 0.66% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 31,222 households out of which 29.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.30% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.90 males.

Recent history
Somerset County gained worldwide attention in when a hijacked airliner,, crashed near the town of  in the.

Less than a year later, in July, Somerset County again made worldwide news when nine miners were rescued from several hundred feet underground from the  after an intense multi-day struggle.

In April, the credited  of , Somerset County, as the lone soldier who came forward to halt and expose the  prisoner-of-war abuse scandal in.

Somerset County in Arts and Literature
Nineteenth century poet, the "Hoosier Poet", immortalized Somerset County and its bucolic countryside in his poem "'Mongst the Hills of Somerset". The poem's opening line is the unforgettable "'Mongst the hills of Somerset, I wish I were a'roamin' yet."

The Mountain Playhouse in was one of the nation's first "summer-stock" theatres. The Mountain Playhouse has maintained a full schedule of live theatre productions nightly from May through October each year for the last sixty years.

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 Somerset County:

Townships
s are geographical areas designated by the for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

Other Unincorporated Communities




Recreation
There are 4 in Somerset County.