Mifflin County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,143. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Lewistown. The county was created on September 19, 1789, from parts of Cumberland County and Northumberland County. It was named for Thomas Mifflin, the first Governor of Pennsylvania. Mifflin County comprises the Lewistown, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

The county terrain is formed by the folded Appalachian Mountain ridges which run from southwest to northeast across the county. The terrain slopes to the northeast, with its highest point (Broad Mtn) 1.25 mile (2 km) East Northeast from the county's Northwest corner, just south of the county's border with Centre County. It measures 2,339' (713m) Above sea level. The Juniata River flows northeast through the lower part of the county, exiting northeastward into Juniata County near Hawstone. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water. Mifflin County is located in, and has its boundaries defined by, the Ridge-and Valley Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. US Route 322, a major divided highway, connects the county to the rest of the state on its route between Harrisburg and State College. US Route 522 also connects the county to the rest of the state on its route between Selinsgrove and Mount Union. The county has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Dfa''/''Dfb'') and average temperatures in downtown Lewistown range from 27.8 °F in January to 72.7 °F in July

Adjacent counties

* Centre County - north * Union County, Pennsylvania, Union County - northeast * Snyder County - east * Juniata County - south * Huntingdon County - west

Major highways

* * * * * * * *

Protected areas

* Reeds Gap State Park * Bald Eagle State Forest (part) *

Rothrock State Forest Rothrock State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #5. The main offices are located in Huntingdon in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Rothrock State Forest is located in Centr ...

(part) * Tuscarora State Forest (part) * State Game Lands Number 107 (part) * State Game Lands Number 112B (part) * White Mountain Wild Area (part of Bald Eagle State Forest)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

2010 U.S. census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, there were 46,682 people and 18,743 households in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 113.6/sqmi (43.9/km²). There were 21,537 housing units at an average density of 52.4/sqmi (20.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.53%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.64%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.31% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.03% from two or more races. 1.14% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race. 38.8% were of German, 19.2% American, 8.0%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and 7.5% English ancestry. 5.7% report speaking Pennsylvania Dutch,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, or German at home. There were 18,743 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.60% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.90% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.99. The county population contained 23.1% under the age of 18, 2.2% from 18 to 19, 5.1% from 20 to 24, 10.4% from 25 to 34, 20.1% from 35 to 49, 20.6% from 50 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. The population was 48.93% male, and 51.07% female.

2020 Census

Amish community

The

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

community in Mifflin County, established in 1791, had a total population of 3,905 people (in 30 congregations) in 2017, or 8.5% of the county's population.

Dialect

The dominant form of speech in Mifflin County is the Central Pennsylvania accent. Almost everyone in Mifflin County speaks English. The

and some

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

speak Pennsylvania German, also known as Pennsylvania Dutch, a

West Central German West Central German (german: Westmitteldeutsch) belongs to the Central, High German dialect family of German. Its dialects are Franconian and comprise the parts of the Rhinelandic continuum located south of the Benrath line isogloss, including ...

dialect, which is quite different from modern Standard German. The Amish and Mennonites also can speak English. Few non-Amish or Mennonites in Mifflin County today speak Pennsylvania German, but this was not true in the past.

Micropolitan Statistical Area

The

United States Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

has designated Mifflin County as the Lewistown, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area (µSA). As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

the micropolitan area ranked 10th most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 237th most populous in the United States with a population of 46,682.

Law and government

County commissioners

*Mark Sunderland (R) *Rob Postal (R) *Kevin P. Kodish (D)

State representatives

* Rich Irvin, Republican, Pennsylvania's 81st Representative District * John D. Hershey, Republican, Pennsylvania's 82nd Representative District * Kerry A. Benninghoff, Republican, Pennsylvania's 171st Representative District (as of 9 May 2017)

State senator

* Jake Corman, Republican, Pennsylvania's 34th Senatorial District (as of 9 May 2017)

United States representative

* Fred Keller, Republican, Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district

United States senators

Pat Toomey Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for Pennsylvania since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representa ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Bob Casey, Jr. Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Casey previously served as Pe ...

, Democrat Mifflin County voters have been reliably Republican. In only one national election since 1940 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

Economy

Major employers in Mifflin County include:
Philips

Lewistown Hospital

Standard Steel

Trinity Packaging Supply

Overhead Door Corporation

Jarden Plastics

Marlette Homes

Asher’s Chocolates (Formerly Goss Candies)

Giant Food

Walmart

Lowe’s
* Mifflin County School District
First Quality

Education

Public school districts

Most of the county is served by the

Mifflin County School District The Mifflin County School District is a midsized, rural public school district located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The district boundaries coincide with the boundaries of Mifflin County, minus the southwestern municipalities of Kistler a ...

, with the exception of Wayne Township and the boroughs of Newton-Hamilton and Kistler, which are part of the

Mount Union Area School District The Mount Union Area School District is a public school district based in Mount Union, Pennsylvania. The district encompasses approximately 151 square miles. According to 2000 federal census data, it serves a resident population of 9,678. The s ...

. *

(also in Huntingdon County)

Head Start preschool programs

Head Start is a federally and state funded preschool program for low income children. The program serves 3- and 4-year-olds. In order to participate the family income must be below federal poverty guidelines. * Coleman Head Start Center * McVeytown Head Start Center

Private schools

* Sacred Heart provides a private, Catholic education from kindergarten through fifth grade.
Belleville Mennonite School
Beth-El Christian Day School, and Valley View Christian School provide Mennonite education through grade twelve. * Mifflin County Christian Academy located in Decatur Township provides Christian education from kindergarten through grade twelve as well as day care. * Several Old Order Amish schools provide education through grade eight.

Colleges and universities

Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology located in Lewistown provides post high school degrees in nursing, auto mechanics and electrical services and other technology driven careers. The Lewistown branch of the South Hills School of Business and Technology offers associate degrees and other certifications in various areas of business, technology, and some health care. (Closed 2019) The Penn State Learning Center in Lewistown offers both two-year and four-year degrees. Recently, the Learning Center opened a state-of-the-art science lab to be used by students attending the Lewistown Hospital School of Nursing.

Media

Radio stations

AM

* WLUI 670 AM- Lewistown (simulcast on W225CK, 92.9 FM) * WKVA 920 AM- Lewistown (simulcast on W262DO, 100.3 FM)

FM

* WRYV 88.7- Milroy * WJRC 90.9- Lewistown * WMRF 95.7- Lewistown * WVNW 96.7- Burnham * WCHX 105.5- Burnham

Television

Mifflin County does not have a local television station but it is provided with local coverage from the following stations outside of the county from both the Harrisburg and Johnstown/Altoona markets: * WHTM 27 Harrisburg (27.1 ABC, 27.2 ION, 27.3 GetTV, 27.4 Laff) * WPMT 43 York (43.1 FOX, 43.2 AntennaTV) * WHP 21 Harrisburg (21.1 CBS, 21.2 MyNetworkTV, 21.3 CW) * WGAL 8 Lancaster (8.1 NBC, 8.2 MeTV) * WTAJ 10 Altoona (10.1 CBS, 10.2 Escape, 10.3 Laff, 10.4 Grit) * WJAC 6 Johnstown (6.1 NBC, 6.2 MeTV, 6.3 Comet, 6.4 CW) * WATM 23 Altoona (23.1 ABC, 23.2 FOX, 23.3 ThisTV, 23.4 AntennaTV) * WWCP 8 Johnstown (8.1 FOX, 8.2 ABC) * WHVL 29 State College (29.1 MyNetworkTV, 29.2 Buzzr)

Newspapers

Lewistown Sentinel
* County Observer
The Valley Newspaper

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities:

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

, and, in at most two cases, towns.

Boroughs

* Burnham * Juniata Terrace * Kistler * Lewistown (county seat) * McVeytown * Newton Hamilton

Census-designated places and unincorporated communities

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

s are geographical areas designated by the US Census Bureau for the purpose of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities are listed here as well. * Alfarata * Allensville * Anderson * Atkinson Mills * Barrville * Belleville * Belltown * Cedar Crest * Church Hill * Granville * Hawstone * Highland Park * Little Kansas * Longfellow * Lumber City *

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

* Mattawana * Menno * Milroy * Naginey * Potlicker Flats * Reedsville * Ryde * Shindle * Siglerville * Strodes Mills * Union Mills *

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

* WoodlandWoodland PA (MapQuest, accessed 23 May 2019)
/ref> * Yeagertown

Townships

* Armagh * Bratton *

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

* Decatur * Derry * Granville * Menno * Oliver *

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

* Wayne

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Mifflin County. † ''county seat''

References

External links

* [ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/mifflin_GHSN.pdf Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division, "2005 General Highway Map of Juniata and Mifflin Counties".] Note: shows boroughs, townships, roads, villages, some streams. URL accessed on April 5, 2006.
JuniataRiverValley.org
Visitor Bureau {{authority control 1789 establishments in Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1789 Counties of Appalachia