Forest County Cooperative Extension -

Forest County consists geologically of a region of the Allegheny Plateau drained by the Allegheny and Clarion rivers, Tionesta Creek and smaller tributaries of these rivers Tionesta Dam impounds the largest reservoir lake in the county, with a purpose of flood control. Where not cut by the narrow valleys of these rivers, the land is rolling. Forest County has public forest lands in various categories including portions of Allegheny National Forest, Cook Forest State Park, State Game Lands 24, and Cornplanter State Forest. Additional lands are owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. About 45% of the land area is publicly owned.

One of two Pennsylvania counties with NO traffic lights - the other is Perry County - also with no radio or television station, no daily paper, no three- or four-lane highways. However it does have a weekly newspaper, and a large number of scenic highways and byways.

Other than the county seat in Tionesta, population centers include Marienville, East and West Hickory, Endeavor, Nieltown, Clarington, Mayburg, Lynch and Kelletville.

More information on Forest County

Forest County Statistics

More Facts on Forest County

Most of the public lands in the county, and much of the private lands, are in forested woodlands. Additional acreage is in abandoned or semi-managed farmlands. Commercial agriculture acreage comprises a relatively small part of the county. Most of the active farms are located in the southeastern part of the county, and concentrate on dairy and forage production.

The county was formed in 1848, and Tionesta is the county seat. The main industries are forest production and services, often related to tourism. One of Pennsylvania's seven completely rural counties, Forest is also one of the most sparsely populated. With a land area of 428 square miles (1,109 square km), and the smallest population in the State, with estimates of 4,802 (1990 census), and a 1998 estimate of 5,002. The 1990 census found more residences than residents. The 1990 census reported 1908 occupied housing units, and 6,537 "vacant" units. These are mainly seasonal residences (vacation cottages, hunting and fishing camps) that are found in clusters in several parts of the county. Nearly all of these were "for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use."

According to 1995 estimates from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the median household income is approximately $24,800; about 14% of the population lives in poverty, and about 20.8% of the population under 18 years of age lives in poverty. However, there are large confidence intervals around these estimates, and better estimates are presently not available. County demographics are somewhat skewed, with 20% of the population over 65 years old, and almost 24% under 18 (1990 census).

Forest County Statistics

For more general information on Forest County, go here:
http://forest.extension.psu.edu/Cstats/CountyInfo.htm

To find Census Data on Forest County go to:
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42/42053.html

More detailed information may be found in the files referenced on http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/datamap/cnty?42=053

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Government information site on demographics, economics, and educational information:
http://govinfo.library.orst.edu/

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