Forest County, Pennsylvania

History

Forest County was created on April 11, 1848, from part of Jefferson County. The county was enlarged on October 31, 1866, when part of Venango County was incorporated into the county. Forest County was named for the forests contained within its limits.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 430 square miles (1,100 km²), of which 427 square miles (1,110 km²) is land and 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²) (0.8%) is water.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Part of Allegheny National Forest covers Forest County.

State protected area

Part of Cook Forest State Park is in Forest County.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,946 people, 2,000 households, and 1,328 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 8,701 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.94% White, 2.22% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.69% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 1.21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.1% were of German, 13.9% Irish, 8.1% American and 7.8% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 2,000 households out of which 23.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.70% were married couples living together, 6.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.60% were non-families. 29.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.70% under the age of 18, 5.90% from 18 to 24, 22.60% from 25 to 44, 28.90% from 45 to 64, and 19.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 111.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.30 males.

Forest County's live birth rate was 52 births in 1990. The County's live birth rate in 2000 declined to 40 births, while in 2011 it had declined again to 39 babies. Over the past 50 years (1960 to 2010), rural Pennsylvania saw a steady decline in both the number and proportion of residents under 18 years old. In 1960, 1.06 million rural residents, or 35 percent of the rural population, were children.

According to research by The Center for Rural Pennsylvania, which is a legislative Agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the poverty rate for Forest County was 21.9% in 2014. The statewide poverty rate was 13.6% in 2014. The 2012 childhood poverty rate at Forest Area School District was 57.8% living at 185% or below than the Federal Poverty Level.

Forest County reported no babies born to teens (age15-19) in 2011. In 2015, the number of teen births in Forest County was 16.

Education

The Forest Area School District serves the entire Forest County. The District ranked 421st out of the 493 ranked Pennsylvania school districts in 2015.

Private schools

Libraries

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Forest County:

Boroughs

Census-designated place

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Forest County. The jump in census figures between the 2000 and 2010 census, is due in a large part to the opening of the State Correctional Institution- Forest (SCI- Forest) in October 2004. SCI Forest houses approximately 2,200 inmates at their facility in Marienville, PA.

† county seat