Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

Clearfield County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,562.^[2] The county seat is Clearfield,^[3] and the largest city is DuBois. The county was created in 1804 and later organized in 1822.^[4]

Clearfield County
County
Clearfield County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°00′N 78°28′W
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Founded	January 29, 1822
Seat	Clearfield
Largest city	DuBois
Area
• Total	1,154 sq mi (2,990 km2)
• Land	1,145 sq mi (2,970 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	80,562
• Density	70/sq mi (27/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	15th
Website	www.clearfieldco.org
Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Designated	September 17, 1982[1]

Clearfield County comprises the DuBois, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the State College–DuBois, PA Combined Statistical Area. The county is part of the North Central Pennsylvania region of the state.^[a]

History

Clearfield, the county seat

Clearfield County was formed by the Act of Assembly by the second Governor of Pennsylvania at the time, Thomas McKean on March 26, 1804. The county was created from parts of the already created counties of Huntingdon and Lycoming. The name for the county was most likely derived from the many cleared fields of the valleys surrounding Clearfield Creek and West Branch of the Susquehanna River, formed by the bison herds and also by old corn fields of prior Native Americans tribes.

Location of county government

The first board of county commissioners to the county were Roland Curtin, James Fleming and James Smith, all appointed by Governor McKean in 1805. The first act the commissioners did was to create a local government or seat of the newly created county. They came upon land owned at the time by Abraham Witmer at a village known as Chincleclamousche, named after the Native American chief of the Cornplanter's tribe of Senecas. Clearfield became the new name of the old village.

Early industry

The two major industries of the county from the mid-1800s until the early 1900s were lumber and coal. Lumber was still being floated down the West Branch of the Susquehanna up until 1917. Coal remains the main industry of the county to this day. Founded in 1955, the Hepburnia Coal Company mines and ships coal in addition to several other lines of business.^[5]

Clearfield County Conspiracy Trials

No case tried in the county has caused as much comment as the union conspiracy trials. In all there were fifty-six persons, primarily miners in the Houtzdale region, who were charged with conspiracy as organized strikers.

The first case, against John Maloney and fifty-three others, was tried in 1875, before a jury with Judge Orvis presiding. All were found guilty, although they seem to have been solely peacefully picketing.^[6] Four were sentenced to one year's imprisonment and eight, to six months; the others' sentences were suspended. As every organized labor society in the United States was interested in the result, the events of the trial and verdict were telegraphed throughout the country^[7]

This proceeding was followed by the trial of the remaining two offenders, who were union representatives, John Siney and Xingo Parks. Siney was then the President of the Miners' National Association (MNA); he had come to Houtzdale and delivered an address of support for the union strike, for which he was arrested. Parks was an able organizer for the MNA. Federal Senator Matthew H. Carpenter of Wisconsin defended both men. At trial, Siney was acquitted; Parks was found guilty of inciting unlawful assembly and sentenced to one year's imprisonment, but pardoned within a month from the time sentence was pronounced.^[8]

These cases led in the next year to a liberalization of the Pennsylvania conspiracy law, through amendment providing that only "force, threat, or menace of harm to person or property" would be illegal.^[9]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,154 square miles (2,990 km²), of which 1,145 square miles (2,970 km²) is land and 9.2 square miles (24 km²) (0.8%) is water.^[10] It is the third-largest county in Pennsylvania by land area and fourth-largest by total area. The West Branch Susquehanna River flows through the county, bisecting the county seat along the way. Clearfield County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission,^[11] and it is identified as part of the "Midlands" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.^[12]

The mountainous terrain of the county made traffic difficult for early settlers. Various Native American paths and trails crossing the area were used intermittently by settlers, invading armies, and escaped slaves travelling north along the Underground Railroad. A major feature located in Bloom Township, within the county, is known as Bilger's rocks and exhibits fine examples of exposed sandstone bedrock that was created during the formation of the Appalachian Mountains.

The shape of Clearfield County bears an amazing resemblance to that of the state of Arkansas.

Major highways

• I-80, exits 97, 101, 111, 120, 123 & 133
• US 119
• US 219
• US 322
• PA 36
• PA 53
• PA 153
• PA 253
• PA 255
• PA 286
• PA 410
• PA 453
• PA 729
• PA 830
• PA 865
• PA 879
• PA 969
• PA 970

Adjacent counties

• Elk County (north)
• Cameron County (north)
• Clinton County (northeast)
• Centre County (east)
• Blair County (southeast)
• Cambria County (south)
• Indiana County (southwest)
• Jefferson County (west)

Climate

The county has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb). Average monthly temperatures in DuBois range from 24.6 °F in January to 68.6 °F in July, while in Clearfield borough they range from 23.8 °F in January to 69.3 °F in July and in Osceola Mills they range from 24.4 °F in January to 69.1 °F in July.^[13]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1810	875		—
1820	2,342		167.7%
1830	4,803		105.1%
1840	7,834		63.1%
1850	12,586		60.7%
1860	18,759		49.0%
1870	25,741		37.2%
1880	43,408		68.6%
1890	69,565		60.3%
1900	80,614		15.9%
1910	93,768		16.3%
1920	103,236		10.1%
1930	86,727		−16.0%
1940	92,094		6.2%
1950	85,957		−6.7%
1960	81,534		−5.1%
1970	74,619		−8.5%
1980	83,578		12.0%
1990	78,097		−6.6%
2000	83,380		6.8%
2010	81,642		−2.1%
2020	80,562		−1.3%
[14]

As of the census^[15] of 2000, there were 83,382 people, 32,785 households, and 22,916 families residing in the county. The population density was 73 people per square mile (28 people/km²). There were 37,855 housing units at an average density of 33 units per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.40% White, 1.49% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. 0.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 22.9% were of German, 13.6% American, 10.2% English, 9.9% Irish, 9.1% Italian and 6.0% Polish ancestry.

There were 32,785 households, out of which 29.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were married couples living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.70% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 28.80% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 16.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 99.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.50 males.

2020 census

Clearfield County Racial Composition^[16]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	73,338	91%
Black or African American (NH)	1,760	2.2%
Native American (NH)	78	0.1%
Asian (NH)	450	0.56%
Pacific Islander (NH)	0	0%
Other/Mixed (NH)	2,299	2.9%
Hispanic or Latino	2,637	3.27%

Micropolitan Statistical Area

Map of the State College-DuBois, PA Combined Statistical Area (CSA), composed of the following parts:

  State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area

  DuBois, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget^[17] has designated Clearfield County as the DuBois, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA). As of the 2010 census^[18] the micropolitan area ranked sixth most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 65th most populous in the United States, with a population of 81,642. Clearfield County is also a part of the State College–DuBois, PA Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which combines the populations of both Clearfield and Centre County areas, along with the State College area. The combined statistical area ranked the ninth most populous in Pennsylvania and 125th most populous in the U.S. with a population of 235,632.

Politics and government

Voter registration

As of February 6, 2024, there were 47,456 registered voters in Clearfield County.^[19]

Chart of Voter Registration

1. Republican (61.34%)
2. Democratic (27.02%)
3. Independent (7.65%)
4. Other Parties (4%)

• Republican: 29,296 (61.34%)
• Democratic: 12,904 (27.02%)
• Independent: 3,653 (7.65%)
• Third Party: 1,910 (4.00%)

The county trends Republican in statewide and federal elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, while Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton winning pluralities in the county, with the former by 88 votes. In 2006, Democrat Bob Casey Jr. received 55% of its vote when he unseated incumbent Republican US Senator Rick Santorum and Ed Rendell received 50.2% of the vote against Lynn Swann. Each of the three row-office statewide winners carried Clearfield in 2008.

United States presidential election results for Clearfield County, Pennsylvania^[20]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	30,481	75.23%	9,647	23.81%	387	0.96%
2020	29,203	73.94%	9,673	24.49%	620	1.57%
2016	24,932	72.16%	8,200	23.73%	1,418	4.10%
2012	20,347	63.34%	11,121	34.62%	654	2.04%
2008	18,662	54.85%	14,555	42.78%	805	2.37%
2004	20,533	59.98%	13,518	39.49%	182	0.53%
2000	18,019	58.82%	11,718	38.25%	896	2.92%
1996	12,987	44.85%	11,991	41.41%	3,977	13.74%
1992	11,553	37.45%	12,247	39.70%	7,047	22.85%
1988	14,296	53.52%	12,235	45.80%	182	0.68%
1984	18,653	60.62%	11,963	38.88%	153	0.50%
1980	15,299	54.27%	11,647	41.31%	1,246	4.42%
1976	13,626	49.22%	13,714	49.54%	345	1.25%
1972	16,780	63.54%	9,246	35.01%	383	1.45%
1968	14,471	49.62%	12,369	42.41%	2,323	7.97%
1964	11,338	36.99%	19,211	62.67%	103	0.34%
1960	18,911	56.97%	14,212	42.81%	72	0.22%
1956	17,519	57.51%	12,852	42.19%	89	0.29%
1952	16,045	54.25%	13,376	45.22%	156	0.53%
1948	11,810	49.95%	11,347	47.99%	487	2.06%
1944	13,986	50.24%	13,617	48.92%	233	0.84%
1940	15,407	46.30%	17,705	53.21%	163	0.49%
1936	14,531	40.31%	20,799	57.69%	720	2.00%
1932	10,500	46.47%	11,209	49.60%	888	3.93%
1928	16,719	67.26%	7,870	31.66%	270	1.09%
1924	13,745	60.32%	5,027	22.06%	4,015	17.62%
1920	9,615	52.28%	5,987	32.55%	2,791	15.17%
1916	5,676	42.68%	6,180	46.47%	1,443	10.85%
1912	1,523	11.81%	4,670	36.20%	6,707	51.99%
1908	7,726	51.68%	5,954	39.82%	1,271	8.50%
1904	9,541	64.12%	4,291	28.84%	1,047	7.04%
1900	7,955	53.55%	6,066	40.84%	833	5.61%
1896	7,395	50.97%	6,460	44.53%	653	4.50%
1892	4,765	40.72%	6,108	52.20%	829	7.08%
1888	5,297	44.51%	6,266	52.66%	337	2.83%

United States Senate election results for Clearfield County, Pennsylvania1^[21]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	29,063	72.27%	10,111	25.14%	1,038	2.58%

County commissioners

Commissioners	Party	First Elected
David Glass	Democratic	2019
Tim J. Winters	Republican	2023
John Sobel	Republican	2007

Other county offices

Office	Official	Party	First Elected
Controller	Robert Edwards	Republican	2021
Coroner	Kim Shaffer Snyder	Republican	2017 (appointed)
District Attorney	Ryan P. Sayers	Republican	2019
Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts	Brian K. Spencer	Republican	2013
Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds	Heather Olson-Desmott	Republican	2023
Sheriff	Michael Churner	Republican	2017
Treasurer	Jay Siegel	Republican	2023

State House of Representatives

District	Representative	Party
73	Dallas Kephart	Republican
75	Mike Armanini	Republican

United States House of Representatives

District	Representative	Party
15	Glenn "G.T." Thompson	Republican

United States Senate

Senator	Party
John Fetterman	Democrat
Dave McCormick	Republican

Correctional facilities

• Clearfield County Jail
• Moshannon Valley Correctional Center
• Quehanna Bootcamp
• SCI Houtzdale

Education

Colleges and universities

• Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania at Clearfield, Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania State University at DuBois

Map of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts

Community, junior and technical colleges

• Clearfield County Career and Technology Center
• Triangle Tech

Public school districts

• Clearfield Area School District
• Curwensville Area School District
• DuBois Area School District (also in Jefferson County)
• Glendale School District (also in Cambria County)
• Harmony Area School District (also in Indiana County)
• Moshannon Valley School District
• Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District (also in Centre County)
• Purchase Line School District (also in Indiana County)
• West Branch Area School District (also in Clinton County)

Intermediate unit

• Central IU 10 – West Decatur

Correctional institution schools

• Quehanna Boot Camp – Karthaus
• SCI-Houtzdale – Houtzdale
• Clearfield County Jail-Clearfield

Private schools

• Butchers Run Amish School
• Clearfield Alliance Christian School
• DuBois Area Catholic Elementary School
• DuBois Area Catholic High School
• DuBois Christian Schools
• Golden Yoke School
• Milestones Achievement Center
• Mount Calvary Christian Academy
• New Story (DuBois)
• Otterbein Christian Academy
• Paint & Play School (DuBois)
• Scenic View School
• St Francis Grade School
• Weber Road School

Libraries

• Clearfield County Public Library – Curwensville
• Curwensville Public Library
• DuBois Public Library –
• Glendale Public Library – Coalport
• Joseph and Elizabeth Shaw Public Library – Clearfield
• Hiller Family Memorial Library - Houtzdale

Recreation

There are two Pennsylvania state parks in Clearfield County.

• Parker Dam State Park
• S. B. Elliott State Park

Clearfield County is also home to the largest wild area in Pennsylvania, the Quehanna Wild Area. A culturally and historically significant natural formation of massive sandstone megaliths can be found at Bilger's rocks.

Camping

Lodging/Camping^[22]

Campground #	Name	Location	Campsites	Swimming	Fishing	Hunting
2515	Woodland Campground	Woodland	70	yes	yes	yes

Hunting/fishing

Hunting^[23]

SGL#	Location	Hunting Area	Acreage	Species
34	Medix Run	Benezette, Covington, Girard, Goshen Townships	8,000	bear, deer, turkey
77	Clear Run	Sandy Township	3,038	bear, deer, rabbit, squirrel
78	Bigler	Bradford & Graham Townships	721	bear, deer, turkey
87	Irishtown	Bell & Penn Townships	10,422	deer, grouse, turkey
90	Goshen	Goshen & Lawrence Townships	3,958	bear, deer, turkey
93	Sabula	Union & Huston Townships	4,876	bear, deer, turkey
94	Lecontes Mills	Goshen & Lawrence Townships	2,108	bear, deer, turkey
98	Blue Ball (West Decatur)	Boggs & Decatur Townships	1,172	deer, rabbit, turkey

Fishing

Lake/stream	Location	Tributary of
Bear Run Reservoir	Pike Township	West Branch of the Susquehanna River
Chest Creek	Chest Township	West Branch of the Susquehanna River
Clearfield Reservoir	Pike Township	West Branch of the Susquehanna River
Curwensville Lake	Pike Township	West Branch of the Susquehanna River
DuBois Reservoir	Union Township near Home Camp
Duck Marshes	northern Girard Township near Elk County line
Irvona Reservoir	Chest Township	Clearfield Creek
Lake Sabula	Sandy Township near Sabula
Laurel Run (Bennett Branch Sinnemahoning Creek)	Huston Township in Parker Dam State Park	Bennett Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek
Moose Creek Reservoir	Lawrence Township near Mt. Joy	West Branch of the Susquehanna River
Parker Lake	Huston Township in Parker Dam State Park	Bennett Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek
Penfield Reservoir	Huston Township near Hoovertown	Bennett Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek
Treasure Lake	Sandy Township Treasure Lake
Tyler Reservoir	Huston Township near Tyler	Bennett Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek
West Branch of the Susquehanna River	Most of central & eastern Clearfield County including Mahaffey, Curwensville, and Clearfield	Susquehanna River

Sporting

Golf

Course #	Name	Location	Holes	Website
3133	Chetremon Golf Course	2 miles north of Cherry Tree in Burnside Township Clearfield County	10	https://web.archive.org/web/20111117163225/http://www.chetremon.com/
3274	Grandview Golf Club	1 mile south of Lumber City	18	http://www.golfnow.com/course-directory/pennsylvania-golf-courses/curwensville-golf-courses/grandview-golf-club

Points of interest

• Bilger's Rocks
• Clearfield Armory
• Dimeling Hotel
• McGees Mills Covered Bridge
• St. Severin's Old Log Church

Communities

Map of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels, showing Cities and Boroughs (red), Townships (white), and Census-designated places (blue).

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

City

• DuBois

Boroughs

• Brisbin
• Burnside
• Chester Hill
• Clearfield (county seat)
• Coalport
• Curwensville
• Falls Creek (mostly in Jefferson County)
• Glen Hope
• Grampian
• Houtzdale
• Irvona
• Mahaffey
• New Washington
• Newburg (also known as La Jose)
• Osceola Mills
• Ramey
• Troutville
• Wallaceton
• Westover

Townships

• Beccaria
• Bell
• Bigler
• Bloom
• Boggs
• Bradford
• Brady
• Burnside
• Chest
• Cooper
• Covington
• Decatur
• Ferguson
• Girard
• Goshen
• Graham
• Greenwood
• Gulich
• Huston
• Jordan
• Karthaus
• Knox
• Lawrence
• Morris
• Penn
• Pike
• Pine
• Sandy
• Union
• Woodward

Census-designated places

Census-designated places 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 be listed here as well.

• Allport
• Bigler
• Grassflat
• Hawk Run
• Hyde
• Kylertown
• Morrisdale
• Oklahoma
• Plymptonville
• Sandy
• Treasure Lake
• West Decatur

Unincorporated communities

Unincorporated areas are region of land that are not parts of any incorporated boroughs, cities, or towns.

• Helvetia
• Lumber City
• New Castle (Clearfield County) – in Decatur Township^[24]
• Sylvan Grove
• Viola

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Clearfield County.^[18]

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Population (2010 Census)	Municipal type
1	DuBois	7,794	City
2	† Clearfield	6,215	Borough
3	Treasure Lake	3,861	CDP
4	Curwensville	2,542	Borough
5	Sandy	1,429	CDP
6	Hyde	1,399	CDP
7	Osceola Mills	1,141	Borough
8	Falls Creek (mostly in Jefferson County)	1,037	Borough
9	Plymptonville	981	CDP
10	Chester Hill	883	Borough
11	Houtzdale	797	Borough
12	Oklahoma	782	CDP
13	Morrisdale	754	CDP
14	Irvona	647	Borough
15	Hawk Run	534	CDP
16	West Decatur	533	CDP
17	Coalport	523	Borough
18	Grassflat	511	CDP
19	Ramey	451	Borough
20	Brisbin	411	Borough
21	Bigler	398	CDP
22	Westover	390	Borough
23	Mahaffey	368	Borough
24	Grampian	356	Borough
25	Kylertown	340	CDP
26	Wallaceton	313	Borough
27	Allport	264	CDP
28	Troutville	243	Borough
29	Burnside	234	Borough
30	Glen Hope	142	Borough
31	Newburg	92	Borough
32	New Washington	59	Borough

Notable people

• Mary Elizabeth Willson (1842–1906), gospel singer, singer, composer, evangelist
• Willie Adams, major league baseball pitcher (1912–1919)
• Howie Bedell, major league baseball player
• William Bigler (January 1, 1814 – August 9, 1880), American politician, 12th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1852 to 1855, later U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania from 1856 until 1861.
• Earl Caldwell, former reporter and columnist for The New York Times; first African-American to have a regular column in a major national newspaper. Central figure in a major Supreme Court case about the protection of journalists' sources. Currently hosts Pacifica's WBAI radio (New York City)
• Otto Eppers, cartoonist/illustrator who as part of a stunt successfully jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge at 17 years old
• Howard Fargo, former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1981–2000)
• Anthony A. Mitchell, clarinetist, composer and conductor. Led the United States Navy Band from 1962 to 1968.
• Rembrandt Cecil Robinson (1924–1972) was a United States Navy officer (Rear admiral)[17]
• Edward Scofield, governor of Wisconsin (1897–1901)
• William Irvin Swoope, Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1923–27)
• William A. Wallace, Democratic U.S. senator who served from 1875 to 1881
• Powell Weaver, composer and organist
• Zenas Leonard (1809 - 1857), American mountain man, explorer and trader, known for his journal "Narrative of the Adventures of Zenas Leonard"

See also

• Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania#Highest Point on 80
• Indian old field
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania