Bradford County is a

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, its population was 59,967. 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 Towanda. The county was created on February 21, 1810, from parts of Lycoming and Luzerne Counties. Originally called Ontario County, it was reorganized and separated from Lycoming County on October 13, 1812, and renamed Bradford County for William Bradford, who had been a chief justice of the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as the "Supreme Court" of Pennsylvania were made offici ...

and

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

. The county is part of the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

region of the commonwealth. Bradford County comprises the Sayre, Pennsylvania micropolitan statistical area. The county is not to be confused with the city of

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 ...

, which is in McKean County, 141 miles to the west via U.S. Route 6.

History

As noted above, Bradford County was originally named Ontario County. The county was reorganized and renamed in 1812, but a section of north

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in which major east–west streets are named after Pennsylvania counties retains an Ontario Street, between Westmoreland and Tioga Streets. Two short Bradford Streets are in northeast Philadelphia, about 4 miles from Ontario Street. Bradford County is the ancestral home of the Tehotitachsae

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

of North America. Their principal village, Gohontoto, was on the site of the present Borough of Wyalusing.

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 a total area of , of which are land and (1.2%) are covered by water. It is the second-largest county in Pennsylvania by land area and third-largest by total area.

Climate

Bradford 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 Towanda range from 24.5 °F in January to 70.6 °F in July.

Adjacent counties

Chemung County, New York Chemung County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The population was 84,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its county seat is Elmira, New York, Elmira. Its name is derived fro ...

(northwest) *

Tioga County, New York Tioga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,455. Its county seat is Owego. Tioga County is part of the Binghamton metropolitan area. The county is part of the Southern Tier region of ...

(northeast) * Susquehanna County (east) * Wyoming County (southeast) * Sullivan County (south) * Lycoming County (southwest) * Tioga County (west) Bradford County is one of the few counties in the US to border two counties of the same name in different states (Tioga County in New York and Pennsylvania).

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 62,761 people, 24,453 households, and 17,312 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 28,664 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.94%

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 ...

, 0.40%

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 ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.31% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.19% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 0.63% 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. 32.4% were of English, 19%

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 ...

, 12.6% Irish and 6.4%

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 ...

ancestry. There were 24,453 households, out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.20% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.50% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.10 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 Bradford County as the Sayre, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA). As of the 2010 U.S. Census the micropolitan area ranked 8th most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 131st most populous in the United States with a population of 62,622.

Law and government

Bradford County is a Republican Party stronghold in presidential elections. The only two instances Republican presidential candidates have failed to win the county from 1880 to the present were when

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

won it in 1912 by splitting the Republican vote & in 1964 when

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

won statewide & nationally in a landslide. Johnson is also the only Democrat to ever manage over forty percent of the county's vote. Even so, he won Bradford County only narrowly, by just over one percent.

Voter registration

As of February 7, 2024, there are 37,159 registered voters in the county. There are 23,988 registered Republicans, 8,258 registered Democrats, 3,264 voters registered non-affiliated voters, and 1,649 voters registered to other parties.

County commissioners

* Daryl Miller, Chairman, Republican * Doug McLinko, Vice-chairman, Republican * Zachary Gates, Democrat

Other county officials

* Auditors, Jeff Warner, Eric Matthews, Sebrina Shanks * Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Dawn Close, Republican * Coroner, James Bowen * District Attorney, N.A. * Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds, Sheila Johnson, Republican * Sheriff, Clinton J. Walters, Republican * Treasurer, Matthew Allen, Republican

State senate

* Gene Yaw, Republican, Pennsylvania's 23rd Senatorial District

State House of Representatives

* Clint Owlett, Republican, Pennsylvania's 68th Representative District * Tina Pickett, Republican, Pennsylvania's 110th Representative District

United States House of Representatives

Dan Meuser Daniel Philip Meuser ( ; born February 10, 1964) is an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district since 2019. A Republican, he previously served as the ...

, Republican, Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district

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 *

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

Economy

Major employers are the natural gas industry, farming, logging, DuPont, Global-Tungsten and Powders (formerly Sylvania), Jeld-Wen, and Cargill Regional Beef, Wyalusing.

Education

Public school districts

* Athens Area School District * Canton Area School District (also in Lycoming and Tioga Counties) * Northeast Bradford School District * Sayre Area School District * Towanda Area School District * Troy Area School District * Wyalusing Area School District (also in Wyoming County)

Other public school entities

BLAST Intermediate Unit 17

Northern Tier Career Center
Towanda * Adult Ed Linkage Services – Troy * Lackawanna College Towanda Center

Private schools

* Canton Country School – Canton * Children's Place – Sayre * Epiphany School (Catholic) Pre-K–6 – Sayre accepting OSTCP students * Freedom Lane Academy – Milan * G&G Learning Center – Rome * Maranatha Mission Learning Community Branch 19 – Canton * North Rome Christian School * South Hill Amish School – Wyalusing * St. Agnes Elementary School – Towanda accepting OSTCP students * Union Valley Christian School – Ulster * Valley View Amish School – Pike Township * Wyalusing Valley Children's Center INC – Wyalusing Data from EdNA database maintained by Pennsylvania Department of Education 2012

Libraries

* Allen F. Pierce Free Library – Troy * Bradford County Library – Troy * Bradford County Library System – Troy * Green Free Library – Canton * Mather Memorial Library – Ulster * Monroeton Public Library – Monroeton * New Albany Community Library Inc. * Sayre Public Library * Spalding Memorial Library – Athens * Towanda Public Library * Wyalusing Public Library

Transportation

Public transportation is provided by BeST Transit.

Major highways

* (briefly crosses the NY-PA state border, but is maintained by NYSDOT) * * * * * * * * * *

Recreation

There is one Pennsylvania state park in Bradford County. * Mt. Pisgah State Park

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, and, in only one case ( Bloomsburg, Columbia County),

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 boroughs and townships are located in Bradford County:

Boroughs

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

* Burlington * Canton * Le Raysville *

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

* New Albany *

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

* Sayre * South Waverly * Sylvania * Towanda (county seat) *

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

* Wyalusing

Townships

* Albany *

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

* Asylum *

* Burlington * Canton * Columbia * Franklin * Granville * Herrick * Leroy * Litchfield *

* North Towanda *

Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

* Overton * Pike * Ridgebury *

* Sheshequin * Smithfield * South Creek * Springfield *

Standing Stone A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright rock (geology), stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the Eur ...

* Stevens *

Terry Terry is a unisex diminutive nickname for the given names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence, Terrance (masculine). People Male * Terry A. Canales, American politician * Terry A. Doughty (born 1959), American district ...

* Towanda *

* Tuscarora *

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

* Warren * Wells * West Burlington * Wilmot * Windham * Wyalusing * Wysox

Census-designated place

* Greens Landing

Unincorporated communities

* Berrytown * Browntown * Camptown * Merryall

Population ranking

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

References

External links

Bradford County official website

Bradford County Historical Society

Bradford County Tourism Promotion Agency

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division, "2022 General Highway Map of Bradford County".
Note: shows boroughs, townships, roads, villages, some streams. URL accessed on January 10, 2023. {{coord, 41.79, -76.52, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-PA_source:UScensus1990 1810 establishments in Pennsylvania Northeastern Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1810