The Twin Tiers are the collective counties that lie on the
New York-Pennsylvania border
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
on either side of the
42nd parallel north
The 42nd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 42 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
At this latitude the sun is v ...
. The region is predominantly rural and contains many small towns.
Separately, the two halves of the Twin Tiers region are known as the
Southern Tier
The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate New York region of New York State, consisting of counties west of the Catskill Mountains in Delaware County and geographically situated along or very near the northern border ...
region in the
state of New York
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...
and the
Northern Tier region 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, Maryl ...
. The "Northern" and "Southern" designations are relative to the states in which they are located, not relative to each other.
Constituent counties
The Twin Tiers region is usually defined as including these counties:
McKean, Potter, and (less often)
Cameron Counties refer to themselves as part of the Twin Tiers, but almost never consider themselves part of the Northern Tier, instead going by the name "Northern Pennsylvania". Significant ambiguity often exists in regions: for instance, the western part of the region (McKean and Potter Counties) often associate themselves with
St. Marys, a city larger than any city in that area, but in
Elk County, just south of what is considered "Northern Tier" by any standard. This broader area is also known as the
Pennsylvania Wilds
The Pennsylvania Wilds, or the Pennsylvania Wilds Conservation Landscape, is a predominantly rural and forested region in northern central Pennsylvania, mostly within the Allegheny Plateau. It covers about a quarter of the state's territory, but i ...
.
Erie County, Pennsylvania
Erie County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the northernmost county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,876. Its county seat is Erie. The county was created in 1800 and later organized in 1803.
...
, and
Warren County, Pennsylvania
Warren County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,587. Its county seat is Warren. The county was formed in 1800 from parts of Allegheny and Lycoming counties; attached to Crawford Coun ...
, are almost never considered part of the Twin Tiers, though portions of Warren County are occasionally associated with the rest of the region.
History
The region was historically a disputed territory in the history of the United States prior to its founding. The Northern Tier was claimed by
Pennsylvania Colony
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...
and
Connecticut Colony
The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...
, while the Southern Tier was claimed by Pennsylvania,
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
, and
New York Colony
The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...
. Various treaties and land sales eventually placed the Northern Tier in Pennsylvania's hands and the Southern Tier in New York's.
The region's name originated in 1968 as part of a marketing campaign in the ''
Elmira Star-Gazette
The ''Star-Gazette'' is the major newspaper for Elmira, New York. Based in Elmira, the publication is owned by Gannett.
History
The ''Star-Gazette'' was the first newspaper of the now massive Gannett conglomerate. It was founded as the weekly ...
'' that used twins.
See also
*
Erie Triangle
The Erie Triangle is a roughly 300-square-mile (780-square-kilometre) tract of American land that was the subject of several competing colonial-era claims. It was eventually acquired by the U.S. federal government and sold to Pennsylvania so that ...
*
New York-Pennsylvania border
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
*
Penn-York Valley
The Penn-York Valley (referred to locally as The Valley) is a group of communities that straddles the New York State, New York and Pennsylvania border. It includes the villages and boroughs of:
* Waverly, Tioga County, New York, Waverly, New York
...
References
External links
{{coord missing, New York (state)
Geography of New York (state)
Regions of Pennsylvania
Borders of New York (state)
Borders of Pennsylvania