McKean County is a rural

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,432. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Smethport. The county was created in 1804 and organized in 1826. It was named in honor of former

Pennsylvania Governor The governor of Pennsylvania is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the state's national guard. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to approve or veto bills pass ...

and

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

signer

Thomas McKean Thomas McKean (; March 19, 1734June 24, 1817) was an American lawyer, politician, and Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father. During the American Revolution, he was a Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, ...

. The county is part of the North Central Pennsylvania region of the state. McKean County comprises the

Bradford, Pennsylvania Bradford is a city in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located close to the border with New York state and approximately south of Buffalo, New York. Home to an oil refinery, Zippo headquarters and a University of Pittsburgh b ...

micropolitan statistical area. It includes the

Allegheny National Forest The Allegheny National Forest is a National Forest in Northwestern Pennsylvania, about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The forest covers of land. Within the forest is Kinzua Dam, which impounds the Allegheny River to form Allegheny Reserv ...

and borders

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...

flows through much of the eastern portion of the county, and the

Allegheny Reservoir The Allegheny Reservoir (also known as Kinzua Lake and unofficially as Lake Perfidy) is a reservoir along the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York, USA. It was created in 1965 by the construction of the Kinzua Dam along ...

is accessible on the county’s western border. McKean County boasts of being "The

Black Cherry ''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub in the r ...

Capital of the World." McKean County was settled because of its natural resources of

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, both of which continue to provide significant input to the local economy. Today, a university, rural medical center,

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...

and numerous manufacturing companies balance the area's economy.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has an area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. It has a warm-summer

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 cold ...

(''Dfb'') and average monthly temperatures in downtown Bradford range from 23.0 °F in January to 67.6 °F in July, while in Mount Jewett they range from 21.2 °F in January to 65.1 °F in July.

Adjacent counties

Cattaraugus County, New York Cattaraugus County (locally known as Catt County) is a county in Western New York, with one side bordering Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2020 census, the population was 77,042. The county seat is Little Valley. The county was created ...

(north) *

Allegany County, New York Allegany County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,456. Its county seat is Belmont. Its name derives from a Lenape word, applied by European-American settlers of Western New York State to ...

(northeast) * Potter County (east) * Cameron County (southeast) *

Elk County Elk County is the name of several places: * Elk County, Kansas * Elk County, Pennsylvania * Ełk County __NOTOC__ Ełk County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship, northe ...

(south) * Forest County (southwest) * Warren County (west)

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

National protected area

(part) *

Allegheny National Recreation Area The Allegheny National Recreation Area is a national recreation area of the United States, located on the Allegheny Plateau in northwestern Pennsylvania. It is administered by the United States Forest Service as part of the Allegheny National F ...

(part)

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 45,936 people, 18,024 households, and 12,094 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 21,644 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.46%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.87%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.32% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.40% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 35.0%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 22.2% Irish, 14.6%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, 12.3%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, 10.0%

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, 8.6%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, 5.8%

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

, and 3.7%

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

ancestry. There were 18,024 households, out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.50% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the age distribution of the population shows 23.70% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 28.50% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 100.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.70 males.

2020 census

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). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

has designated McKean County as the Bradford, PA micropolitan statistical area (USA). As of the 2010 U.S. Census the micropolitan area ranked 13th most populous in Pennsylvania and the 277th most populous in the United States with a population of 43,450.

Law and government

Voter Registration

As of February 21, 2022, there are 24,893 registered voters in McKean County. * Democratic: 6,037 (24.25%) * Republican: 15,357 (61.69%) *

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

: 2,296 (9.22%) *

Third Party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a veh ...

: 1,203 (4.83%)

State Senate

Cris Dush Cris E. Dush (born March 1961) is an American politician. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he has been a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate since 2020, elected from the Pennsylvania Senate, District 25, 25th District. From 20 ...

, Republican,

Pennsylvania's 25th Senatorial District Pennsylvania State Senate District 25 includes parts of Centre County and Jefferson County and all of Cameron County, Clinton County, Elk County, McKean County, and Potter County. It is currently represented by Republican Cris Dush. Distric ...

State House of Representatives

* Martin T. Causer, Republican, Pennsylvania's 67th Representative District

United States House of Representatives

* Glenn Thompson, Republican,

Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district has been located in Western Pennsylvania, western and central Pennsylvania since 2019. Since 2023, the district includes all of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Armstrong, Cameron County, Pennsylvania, C ...

United States Senate

John Fetterman John Karl Fetterman ( ; born August 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2006 to 2019 as the mayor o ...

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Dave McCormick David Harold McCormick (born August 17, 1965) is an American politician, businessman, and former United States Army, Army officer serving since 2025 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senato ...

, Republican

Education

Public school districts

* Bradford Area School District * Kane Area School District (also covers part of Elk County) * Oswayo Valley School District (majority of which is in Potter County, covers small portion in McKean County) *

Otto-Eldred School District The Otto-Eldred School District is a diminutive, rural, public school district located in McKean County, Pennsylvania. The school district is named after three of the four municipalities it serves: Eldred, Eldred Township, and Otto Townshi ...

Port Allegany School District Port Allegany School District is a small, rural, public school district located in McKean County and Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States. Geographically, the district is in the north-central-west part of the state. The district encom ...

(also covers part of Potter County) *

Smethport Area School District Smethport Area School District is a rural, public school district located in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. Situated in the north central part of the state, it overlooks the borough of Smethport, which serves as the county seat. ...

Private schools

As reported by EdNA, Pennsylvania Department of Education, June 2010. * Bradford Area Christian Academy, Bradford * Chestnut Street Christian School, Bradford * Custer City Private School * St. Bernard School, Bradford * Learning Center Inc, Bradford * United Christian Academy, Smethport

Libraries

* Bradford Area Public Library * Friends Memorial Public Library - Kane * Hamlin Memorial Library - Smethport * Mount Jewett Memorial Library * Samuel W Smith Memorial Public Library - Port Allegany

Other education entities

* Beacon Light Behavioral Health Systems - Custer City * McKean County Historical Society's Museum at the Old Jail - Smethport * Seneca Highlands Career and Technical Center - Port Allegany * Seneca Highlands IU 9 - Smethport *

University of Pittsburgh at Bradford The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford (Pitt-Bradford or UPB) is a state-related college in Bradford Township, McKean County, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1963, it is a Bachelor's degree, baccalaureate degree-granting, satellite campus, regional ca ...

Recreation

There is one Pennsylvania state park in McKean County.

Kinzua Bridge State Park Kinzua Bridge State Park is a Pennsylvania state park near Mount Jewett, in Hamlin and Keating Townships, McKean County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park lies between U.S. Route 6 and Pennsylvania Route 59, along State Route 30 ...

is between

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbered Highway System. While it ...

and

Pennsylvania Route 59 Pennsylvania Route 59 (PA 59) is a long state highway located in northwest Pennsylvania. The route links Warren to Smethport, terminating at U.S. Route 6 (US 6) at both ends. PA 59 acts as a northerly bypass to US 6, directly connecting Warren ...

, just east of the

near

Mount Jewett Mount Jewett is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 849 at the 2020 census. The students of the borough attend school in the Kane Area School District, even though the borough is surrounded by Hamlin To ...

. When it was built, it was the highest and longest railroad bridge in the world. It was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and its Bureau of Parks as one of "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks" and is a

Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United Stat ...

. A tornado destroyed much of the bridge in 2003, and a skywalk and viewing platform have since been installed on its remnants.

Communities

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

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

, and, in at most two cases,

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in McKean County:

City

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Boroughs

* Eldred *

Kane Kane or KANE may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Fictional entities *Kane (comics), the main character of the eponymous comic book series by Paul Grist * Kane (''Command & Conquer''), Tiberium universe character in the ''Command & Conquer'' ...

* Lewis Run *

Port Allegany Port Allegany is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,116 at the 2020 census. The town's tree-lined streets lie in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, 30 miles west of the Allegheny River's head ...

* Smethport (county seat)

Townships

* Annin *

* Ceres * Corydon * Eldred *

Foster Foster may refer to: People * Foster (surname) * Foster Brooks (1912–2001), American actor * Foster Moreau (born 1997), American football player * Foster Sarell (born 1998), American football player * John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), America ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Hamlin Hamlin may refer to: Places United States * Hamlin, Iowa, a city * Hamlin, Kansas, a city * Hamlin, Kentucky, a town * Hamlin, Maine, a town * Hamlin, Michigan, a former community * Hamlin, New York, a town ** Hamlin (CDP), New York, a censu ...

* Keating * Lafayette *

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

* Wetmore

Census-designated places

* Foster Brook *

Rew Rew or REW may refer to: People In the military * Thomas Rew, United States Air Force In science * George Campbell Rew, American chemist who co-invented Calumet baking powder * R. Henry Rew, British agricultural statistician In sport * Charle ...

* University of Pittsburgh Bradford

Unincorporated communities

* Burning Well * Coryville *

Cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

* Derrick City * Farmers Valley * Gifford *

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

Population ranking

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

References

External links

A resource website for families in McKean County including the McKean County Resource Directory

McKean County Government

McKean County Capitol History

Bradford Today

Bradford Era News

Gardeau Train Wreck of 2006
- A website about the train wreck and chemical spill of June 30, 2006. Location: Gardeau, Norwich Township, Pennsylvania {{Coord, 41, 49, N, 78, 27, W, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki 1826 establishments in Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1826