Westmoreland 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 state of

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 ...

, United States, in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census the population was 354,663. The

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 Greensburg and the most populous community is Hempfield Township. It is named after

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

, a historic county of England. The county is part of the Southwest Pennsylvania region of the state.

History

Formed from, successively, Lancaster, Cumberland, and

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

counties, Westmoreland County was founded on February 26, 1773, and was the first county in the colony of Pennsylvania whose entire territorial boundary was located west of the Allegheny Mountains. The county originally included the present-day counties of Fayette, Washington, Greene, and parts of

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

, Allegheny,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, and Armstrong counties. On December 20th, 1785, Joseph Ross of Westmoreland County was sentenced to death for the crime of

sodomy Sodomy (), also called buggery in British English, principally refers to either anal sex (but occasionally also oral sex) between people, or any Human sexual activity, sexual activity between a human and another animal (Zoophilia, bestiality). I ...

. This is the only known execution for sodomy to take place in Pennsylvania’s history.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is water. Westmoreland County is one of the 423 counties served by the

Appalachian Regional Commission The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a United States federal–state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life. Congress established A ...

, and it is identified as part of "Greater Appalachia" by Colin Woodard in his book '' American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America''.

Climate

Westmoreland 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 cold ...

(''Dfa''/''Dfb''). Average monthly temperatures in Greensburg range from 28.7 °F in January to 71.8 °F in July, while in Murrysville they range from 29.4 °F in January to 73.1 °F in July, in Latrobe they range from 28.9 °F in January to 72.0 °F in July, and in Ligonier they range from 28.1 °F in January to 71.1 °F in July.

Adjacent counties

* Armstrong County (north) * Indiana County (northeast) * Cambria County (east) * Somerset County (southeast) * Fayette County (south) * Washington County (southwest) * Allegheny County (west) * Butler County (northwest)

Major highways

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

Demographics

At the 2010 census, there were 365,169 people, 153,650 households and 101,928 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 168,199 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.3%

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 ...

, 2.3%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 0.2% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. 0.9% 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. There were 153,650 households, of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% 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, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32, and the average family size was 2.86. 22.3% of the population were under 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 31.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.

2020 census

Politics and government

Voter registration

As of November 4, 2024, there are 255,693 registered voters in Westmoreland County. * Republican: 131,903 (51.59%) * Democratic: 91,183 (35.66%) * Independent: 22,697 (8.88%) * Minor parties: 9,910 (3.88%)

Political history

The Democratic Party historically dominated county-level politics between the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

realignment and the turn of the century; however, Westmoreland has trended Republican at the national and statewide levels in the 21st century (in direct lockstep with most other

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

n counties). In 2000, Republican George W. Bush became the first Republican to carry the county since 1972. Republicans have won the county in every election since, increasing the margin of victory in every successive election until 2020. Democratic Governor Ed Rendell lost Westmoreland in 2002 and 2006. In 2004 Republican Bob Regola flipped the 39th Senate district by beating out incumbent Allen Kukovich. Then in 2008, Republican Tim Krieger picked up the 57th House district left open by the retirement of Democratic state representative Tom Tangretti. In 2010, both Pat Toomey and Tom Corbett won Westmoreland in their statewide bids. Also, the GOP gained control of two more State House districts, the 54th with Eli Evankovich and the 56th with George Dunbar. In 2011, the Republican Party swept all county row offices. A Democratic resurgence in 2015 gave that party a majority of the county commissioners. However, in the 2019 elections, Democratic elected officials lost that majority and carried only one row office. In 2020 the County Sheriff who was the lone Democrat who won a row office in 2019 switched party affiliations from Democratic to Republican. In 2021 Republicans carried all of the row offices including defeating the incumbent District Attorney and County Coroner, following the 2021 election the minority County Commissioner was the only Democrat to hold Countywide office. In 2023 Republicans retained their majority on the Board of Commissioners and held every row office. As of

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, the only majority-Democratic cities within the county are Arnold and Monessen. That being said, local Democrats running statewide sometimes win additional cities and boroughs. For example, in the 2022 Gubernatorial race, the cities of Greensburg, New Kensington, Latrobe, and Jeannette all voted for Democrat Josh Shapiro over Republican Doug Mastriano despite voting Republican in the 2020 Presidential election.

County commissioners

Westmoreland County is administered by a three-member publicly elected commission. Each commissioner serves in four-year terms. Elections occur in the odd-numbered years that precede U.S. presidential elections. All three Commissioners are chosen in the same election, and voters may vote for no more than two candidates. By state law, the commission must have a minority party guaranteeing a political split on the commission. The Commissioners are responsible for the management of the fiscal and administrative functions of the county.

County row offices

State House of Representatives

State Senate

United States House of Representatives

United States Senate

Education

Public school districts

School districts: * Belle Vernon Area School District (Also in Fayette County) * Blairsville-Saltsburg School District (Also in Indiana County) * Burrell School District * Derry Area School District * Franklin Regional School District * Greater Latrobe School District * Greensburg-Salem School District * Hempfield Area School District * Jeannette City School District * Kiski Area School District (Also in Armstrong County) * Leechburg Area School District (Also in Armstrong County) * Ligonier Valley School District * Monessen City School District * Mount Pleasant Area School District * New Kensington–Arnold School District * Norwin School District * Penn-Trafford School District (also in Allegheny County) * Southmoreland School District (also in Fayette County) * Yough School District

Public charter schools

* Dr. Robert Ketterer Charter School grades 7th through 12th Latrobe (since 2008) According to EdNA

Private high school

* Greensburg Central Catholic High School * Kiskiminetas Springs School

Colleges and universities

* Penn State New Kensington * Seton Hill University * Saint Vincent College * Westmoreland County Community College * University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg * Carlow University at Youngwood * Triangle Tech

Additional

* Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center * Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center * Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center
Valley School of Ligonier

Economy

Coal mining became a major industry in the county after the Civil War, followed by the expansion of iron, steel, and glass manufacturing. The 600-acre coke works for the

Isabella Furnace Isabella Furnace was a cold blast charcoal iron blast furnace, furnace located in West Nantmeal Township, Pennsylvania. The furnace was named for Isabella Potts, wife of one of the partners, a member of the Potts ironmaking family. Isabella was ...

were built in Cokeville (then Coketown) in the Spring of 1872. At one point, company "coal patches" (towns built for miners) represented about one-third of the county's settlements. A major strike by coal miners represented by the United Mine Workers of America took place in 1910–1911. Sixteen people were killed in the strike. In 2020, the top industries in the county were health care and social services (16.3% of jobs), manufacturing (13.8%), and retail trade (13.7%). Mining comprised less than 1% of the jobs in the county. Westmoreland County is now believed to be the site of over 100 abandoned mines. Volkswagen's Westmoreland plant near New Stanton in Westmoreland County was the first foreign-owned factory mass-producing automobiles in the U.S. It operated from 1978 to 1988.

Recreation

Westmoreland County has four Pennsylvania state parks. * Keystone State Park * Laurel Ridge State Park * Laurel Summit State Park * Linn Run 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 at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs, and townships are located in Westmoreland County:

Cities

* Arnold * Greensburg (county seat) * Jeannette * Latrobe * Lower Burrell * Monessen * New Kensington

Boroughs

* Adamsburg * Arona * Avonmore * Bolivar * Delmont *

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

* Donegal * East Vandergrift *

Export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...

* Hunker * Hyde Park * Irwin * Laurel Mountain * Ligonier * Madison * Manor * Mount Pleasant * Murrysville * New Alexandria * New Florence * New Stanton * North Belle Vernon * North Irwin *

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

* Penn * Scottdale * Seward * Smithton * South Greensburg * Southwest Greensburg * Sutersville *

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sa ...

(partly in Allegheny County) * Vandergrift * West Leechburg * West Newton * Youngstown * Youngwood

Townships

* Allegheny *

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

* Cook *

* Donegal * East Huntingdon * Fairfield * Hempfield * Ligonier * Loyalhanna * Mount Pleasant * North Huntingdon * Penn * Rostraver * St. Clair * Salem * Sewickley * South Huntingdon * Unity * Upper Burrell * Washington

Census-designated places

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 counte ...

s are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may also be listed here. * Bradenville * Calumet * Collinsburg * Crabtree * Fellsburg * Grapeville * Harrison City * Herminie * Hostetter * Lawson Heights * Level Green * Loyalhanna * Lynnwood Pricedale *

Mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...

* Millwood * Norvelt * St. Vincent College * Slickville * Webster * Wyano *

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

Unincorporated communities

* Acme * Alverton * Ardara * Armbrust * Baggaley * Bessemer * Blackstone * Boquet * Bovard * Brenizer *

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

* Claridge * Forbes Road * Greenwald * Hannastown * Hopewell * Hutchinson * Jacobs Creek * Jones Mills * Kecksburg * Larimer * Laughlintown * Lloydsville * Lowber *

Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...

* Marguerite * Morewood * Moween * New Derry * Pandora *

Peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

* Pleasant Unity * Reagantown * Rector * Reduction * Ruffs Dale * Salina * Scab Hill * Seger *

Southwest 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— ...

* Stahlstown * Standard Shaft * Tarrs * Torrance * Trauger * Turkeytown * United * Wendel * Westmoreland City * Whitney * Yohoghany

Former community

* Cokeville / Coketown * Livermore, Pennsylvania * Franklin Township - now known as Murrysville, Pennsylvania

Population ranking

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

Notable people

* David Alter, born in Westmoreland County, noted inventor *

Pete Babando Peter Joseph Babando (May 10, 1925 – February 19, 2020) was an American-born Canadian ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League with all four of the United States–based Original Six teams (Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Ch ...

, former NHL Hockey player, played for 1950

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

champions

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

, born in Braeburn neighborhood of the City of Lower Burrell. *

George Blanda George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American professional American football, football quarterback and placekicker who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda ...

, Hall of Fame football player, born in Youngwood. * D.J. Coffman, comic book artist and writer, creator of Hero By Night. Born in Mt. Pleasant. Resides in Scottdale. * Johnny Costa, jazz pianist, was born and raised in Arnold. * Jesse Root Grant, (father of Ulysses S. Grant, General & President) born in Greensburg. *

Shirley Jones Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American actress and singer. In her six decades in show business, she has starred as wholesome characters in a number of musical films, such as ''Oklahoma! (film), Oklahoma!'' (1955), ''Carousel (fi ...

, Academy Award-winning actress and singer, grew up in Smithton. * Sheila Kelley, American actor, born and raised in Greensburg, Pa. Founder of Sheila Kelley S Factor exercise and lifestyle program. * Stephanie Kwolek, chemist and inventor of

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as ...

, born in New Kensington. * Bill Mazeroski, Hall of Fame baseball player * Michael Moorer, boxer * Arnold Palmer, golfer, was born and raised in Latrobe. * Terrelle Pryor NFL quarterback, attended Jeannette High School. * Fred Rogers, television personality, was born, raised, and lived in Latrobe; buried in Unity Cemetery, Unity Township, just outside Latrobe. * Arthur St. Clair, American Revolution Major General, Patriot, 9th President of the Continental Congress, buried in Greensburg, Pa. * Willie Thrower, football player, was born and raised in New Kensington. * Jim White, KMOX radio talk show host, born and raised in Greensburg, Pa. * Jacob Zimmerman (born 1831), newspaper editor, newspaper owner, Illinois politician, mine owner, real estate entrepreneur, and businessman.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 40.31, -79.47, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-PA_source:UScensus1990 1773 establishments in Pennsylvania Laurel Highlands Pittsburgh metropolitan area Populated places established in 1773