The county was colonized by people ofYankee stock (colonists fromNew England and the western part of New York who were descended from the English Puritans of colonial New England). With the opening of a rough wagon road to the source of the Tioga River, New England colonists poured over the Allegheny Mountains. Tioga County resembledupstate New York more than it did easternPennsylvania, as its population primarily consisted of colonists from New England.[6] Developers and land speculators laid out roads, established post routes, erected public buildings, and invited people to move there. The original colonists were entirely of New England origins or wereYankees from upstate New York, whose families had recent ancestors in New England, with colonization taking place in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War. Tioga County was largely culturally contiguous with New England culture, which was influential across the Northern Tier of the United States through its migrants.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the county received immigrants from Ireland, Germany and eastern Europe, who came to work in the coal mines. A number of them were Roman Catholic, introducing more diversity into the mixture of religions here.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,137 square miles (2,940 km2), of which 1,134 square miles (2,940 km2) is land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2) (0.3%) is water.[7] It is the fourth-largest county in Pennsylvania by land area and fifth-largest by total area. It has a warm-summerhumid continental climate (Dfb) and average monthly temperatures in Wellsboro range from 22.8 °F in January to 68.2 °F in July.[8]
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 41,045. The median age was 44.7 years, 20.3% of residents were under the age of 18, and 22.7% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.6 males age 18 and over.[15]
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[17]
There were 16,964 households in the county, of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.0% were married-couple households, 18.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[15]
There were 21,503 housing units, of which 21.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.2% were owner-occupied and 26.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.9%.[15]
Tioga County, Pennsylvania – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of thecensus[21] of 2000, there were 41,373 people, 15,925 households, and 11,195 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 36 people per square mile (14 people/km2). There were 19,893 housing units at an average density of 18 units per square mile (6.9/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 98.11%White, 0.60%Black orAfrican American, 0.23%Native American, 0.30%Asian, 0.01%Pacific Islander, 0.14% fromother races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 0.52% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. Residents of Tioga County were of 31.9%English, 23.1%German, 10.1%Irish, 6.0%Polish and 5.3%Italian ancestry.
There were 15,925 households, out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% weremarried couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.70% under the age of 18, 10.60% from 18 to 24, 25.40% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.
Tioga County is one of the most heavilyRepublican represented counties in Pennsylvania. This has a long history asAbraham Lincoln reportedly received 78.57% of the county's vote in the1860 Presidential election.[24] Since Abraham Lincoln the county has voted for the non-Republican presidential candidate only two times. The first wasTheodore Roosevelt's1912 run as aProgressive and the second wasLyndon B. Johnson's landslide in1964.[25] In 2004,George W. Bush received 12,019 votes (68%) to 5,437 votes (31%) forJohn Kerry. In 2008John McCain received 62.7% of the vote.[26] In 2020, despite the state's slight leftward swing, the county swung further right to giveDonald Trump the best Republican result since 1956. In 2006,Rick Santorum andLynn Swann both had significant victories in Tioga County despite their defeats statewide. The last two sitting Board of Commissioners have been all Republican candidates, and Tioga County is the only county in Pennsylvania with all three sitting commissioners being from a single party. This was due to the success of write in campaigns conducted by Roger Bunn in 2011 and Mark Hamilton in 2015.
Map of Tioga County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Boroughs (red) and Townships (white).
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 Tioga County:
Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by theU.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 be listed here as well.
Tioga County is historically home to severalghost towns for a variety of reasons, chiefly the decline of the lumber and coal industry. Most prominently isLeetonia, a former timbercompany town. Some small hamlets, such as Mardin and Olde Corner, who relied onRural Free Delivery for trade met their downfall. Former boroughFall Brook was a site of coal discovered in 1856, andLandrus first was settled to build a sawmill.[28]
Map 562 *Augmented by Williams, J. H., Taylor, L. E., and Low, D. J. (1993), Surficial geologic map of major glaciated valleys of Bradford, Tioga, and Potter Counties, Pennsylvania, showing locations of wells, test holes, and data-collection sites, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 4th ser., Water Resource Report 68.
