Clarion County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,241. Its county seat is Clarion. Clarion County is entirely defined as part of the Pittsburgh media market. The county is part of the North Central region of the commonwealth.

History The county was formed on March 11, 1839, from parts of Venango and Armstrong counties. The county gets its name from the Clarion River, which flows through the center of the county. The river was a major source of economic growth in the early days of the area. The county relied on the lumber industry in its earliest days, and the Clarion River was used to transport lumber to the Allegheny River. The iron industry dominated the county for a short while, and Clarion County boasted an impressive 31 iron furnaces.

After Edwin Drake struck oil in 1859, many wildcatters flocked to area to drill for oil, particularly along Canoe Creek, Beaver Creek, and the Clarion River. The wildcatting in the county slowed down after the early petroleum industry crashed in 1861 and no major developments would occur until 1869. In 1869, wildcatters struck several decently producing wells across the Allegheny from Parker City. This opened up the Clarion Field, and producers moved to capitalize on these discoveries quickly, putting down wells along the Allegheny River and the Clarion River on the Grass Flats.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water. It has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb), and average temperatures in Clarion borough range from 24.5 °F in January to 82 °F in July. Clarion County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, and it is identified as part of the "Midlands" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.

Adjacent counties Forest County (north) Jefferson County (east) Armstrong County (south) Butler County (west) Venango County (west)

Parks Part of Cook Forest State Park is in Clarion County.

The Clarion County Park is located in Paint Township. Clarion County Veterans Memorial Park is located directly across Main Street (Route 322) from the Clarion County Courthouse in the center of the Borough of Clarion.

Major highways

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 37,241, a population density of , 15,298 households, and 10,738 families residing in the county. The median age was 43.6 years, 19.5% of residents were under the age of 18, 21.6% were 65 years of age or older, there were 95.6 males for every 100 females, and there were 93.1 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.

Of the 15,298 households in the county, 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 49.5% were married-couple households, 18.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present; about 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 18,829 housing units, of which 18.8% were vacant, 71.5% of the occupied units were owner-occupied, and 28.5% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.5%.

15.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 84.8% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 94.4% White, 1.5% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 3.0% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.0% of the population.

+Clarion County, Pennsylvania – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)40,86738,72435,02397.84%96.83%94.04%Black or African American alone (NH)3254685210.77%1.17%1.39%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4445390.10%0.11%0.10%Asian alone (NH)1411911750.33%0.47%0.46%Pacific Islander alone (NH)25150.00%0.01%0.04%Other race alone (NH)9241110.02%0.06%0.29%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)2052869700.49%0.71%2.60%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1722453870.41%0.61%1.03%Total41,76539,98837,241100.00%100.00%100.00%

Government

Voter registration As of February 6, 2024, there are 23,414 registered voters in Clarion County.

Republican: 14,959 (63.89%) Democratic: 5,788 (24.72%) Independent: 1,946 (8.31%) Third Party: 721 (3.08%)

County commissioners Wayne Brosius; Republican Ted Tharan; Republican Braxton White; Democrat

Other county officials Hon. James G. Arner, senior judge, Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas Hon. Sara Seidle-Patton, president judge, Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas Duane L. Quinn (18-3-01), district judge Timothy P. Schill (18-3-02), district judge Jarah L Heeter (18-3-03), district judge Jeffery C. Miller (18-3-04), district judge Drew Welsh; Republican, District Attorney Shawn Zerfoss; Republican, Sheriff Karyn Montana; Republican, Treasurer

State senate District Senator Party21 Scott E. Hutchinson Republican

State House of Representatives District Representative Party63 Josh Bashline Republican

United States House of Representatives District Representative Party 15 Glenn Thompson Republican

United States Senate Senator Party John Fetterman Democrat Dave McCormick Republican

Education

Colleges and universities PennWest Clarion

Public school districts Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District Clarion Area School District Clarion-Limestone Area School District Karns City Area School District Keystone School District North Clarion County School District Redbank Valley School District Union School District

Intermediate unit Public school districts and private schools in the county are served by Riverview Intermediate Unit IU6 which provides special education and professional development services.

Technical school Clarion County Career Center is located along State Route 66 in Marianne (Shippenville address).

Private schools Alexander Amish School - Venus Bear Run School - Knox Christs Dominion Academy - Summerville Clarion Center School - Clarion County Corner - Knox Deer View School - Mayport Immaculate Conception School - Clarion Little Bird Preschool - New Bethlehem Meadow View Amish School - Knox New Bethlehem Mennonite School - New Bethlehem Shady Nook Amish School - Sligo St Josephs School - Lucinda Zacheral Amish School - Venus

Communities

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 Clarion County:

Boroughs

Callensburg Clarion (county seat) East Brady Foxburg Hawthorn Knox New Bethlehem Rimersburg Shippenville Sligo St. Petersburg Strattanville

Townships

Ashland Beaver Brady Clarion Elk Farmington Highland Knox Licking Limestone Madison Millcreek Monroe Paint Perry Piney Porter Redbank Richland Salem Toby Washington

Census-designated places Crown Leeper Marianne Tylersburg Vowinckel

Population ranking The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Clarion County.

† county seat

RankCity/town/etc.Municipal typePopulation (2020 Census) 1 † Clarion Borough 3,931 2 Marianne CDP 1,063 3 Knox Borough 1,093 4 New Bethlehem Borough 978 5 Rimersburg Borough 942 6 East Brady Borough 818 7 Sligo Borough 681 8 Strattanville Borough 537 9 Hawthorn Borough 477 10 Shippenville Borough 442 11 St. Petersburg Borough 336 12 Callensburg Borough 150 13 Tylersburg CDP 196 T-14 Foxburg Borough 181 T-14 Crown CDP 265 15 Leeper CDP 136 16 Vowinckel CDP 130

Notable people Marietta Bones (1842–1901) - suffragist, social reformer, philanthropist Fred Caligiuri (1918–2018) - Major League Baseball pitcher (Philadelphia Athletics, 1941, 1942); as of 2018 was the oldest living major-league player; born in Forest County; former resident of Knox and Rimersburg Hunter Corbett - pioneer American Presbyterian missionary to China, ministered in China for 56 years Jim Kelly - NFL athlete (Buffalo Bills); grew up in East Brady Chris Kirkpatrick - musician ('N Sync); born in Clarion Dominick Labino - glass artist; born in Fairmount City (Redbank Township); managed the Owens-Illinois glass plant in Clarion Ossee Schreckengost - Major League Baseball player; born in New Bethlehem Randall Silvis - author and screenwriter; born in Madison Township Grace M. Sloan (1902–2001), Pennsylvania state treasurer and auditor general; born in Clarion Ernest M. Skinner - pipe organ builder, inventor; born in Clarion Jane Wolfe - silent film actress and thelemite; born in St. Petersburg

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Clarion County, Pennsylvania Oil Creek Library District

References