County GenWeb site
County Govt Site
Municipal Info
According to the Pennsylvania Manual , v114, as of 1999 Pennsylvania's government structure included 67 counties, 56 cities, 964 boroughs, 1 incorporated town (Bloomsburg), 1,548 townships, 501 school districts, and 2,198 authorities. (An authority is a special kind of local unit authorized to perform a specific service, eg, a sewer authority or redevelopment authority, etc.)
County GenWeb site
County Govt Site
Municipal Info
22 Jan 1800 from part of York county, named for President John Adams;
Gettysburg named for James Gettys, a local landowner
24 Sep 1788 from parts of Washington & Westmoreland counties, named for
the Allegheny River; Pittsburgh named for William Pitt, a British statesman
12 Mar 1800 from parts of Allegheny Lycoming & Westmoreland counties,
named for General John Armstrong; Kittanning named for a Delaware Indian
village that had been located there
12 Mar 1800 from parts of Allegheny & Washington counties, named for the
Beaver River; Beaver
9 Mar 1771 from part of Cumberland county, named for Fort Bedford, which had
been named for the Duke of Bedford; Bedford is located on the site of Fort
Bedford
11 Mar 1752 from parts of Chester, Lancaster & Philadelphia counties,
named for Berkshire in England; Reading named for Berkshire's county town
26 Feb 1846 from parts of Bedford & Huntingdon counties, named for John Blair,
a prominent citizen; Hollidaysburg named for Adam & William Holliday, early
settlers
21 Feb 1810 from parts of Luzerne & Lycoming counties, named Ontario
County for Lake Ontario; organized and renamed Bradford County on 24 Mar 1812
in honor of William Bradford, second Attorney General of the US; Towanda named
for Towanda Creek
one of the original counties created in Nov 1682, named for
Buckinghamshire in England, home of the Penns; Doylestown named for William
Doyle, an innkeeper
12 Mar 1800 from part of Allegheny county, named for General Richard
Butler; Butler
26 Mar 1804 from parts of Bedford, Huntingdon & Somerset counties, named for
Cambria Twp in Somerset & is an ancient name for Wales; Ebensburg named for
Eben Lloyd, deceased eldest son of Rev Rees Lloyd
29 Mar 1860 from parts of Clinton, Elk, McKean & Potter counties, named for US
Senator Simon Cameron; Emporium is Latin for 'market or trade center'
13 Mar 1843 from parts of Monroe & Northampton counties, Jim Thorpe was
originally Mauch Chunk, an Indian name meaning 'bear mountain', and renamed in
1954 for the famous athlete buried there
13 Feb 1800 from parts of Huntingdon, Lycoming, Mifflin & Northumberland
counties, named for its location in the state; Bellefonte is French for
'beautiful spring' (the water, not the season), named for a large spring
located there & said to have been recommended by the French statesman,
Talleyrand
one of the original counties created in Nov 1682, named for Cheshire in
England; West Chester named for Chester, the original county seat, which is now
in Delaware county
11 Mar 1839 from parts of Armstrong & Venango counties, named for the Clarion
River; Clarion
26 Mar 1804 from parts of Huntingdon & Lycoming counties, but operated
as a part of Centre county until 1812, named for Clearfield Creek; Clearfield
21 Jun 1839 from parts of Centre & Lycoming counties, probably named for
Gov DeWitt Clinton of NY, a proponent of the Erie Canal; Lock Haven named for
its position on the West Branch Canal
22 Mar 1813 from part of Northumberland county, named as a poetic
allusion to America; Bloomsburg named for Bloom Twp, which was named for Samuel
Bloom, a commissioner of Northumberland county
12 Mar 1800 from part of Allegheny county, named for Col William Crawford, a
frontier hero; Meadville named for its founder, David Mead
27 Jan 1750 from part of Lancaster county, named for Cumberland County
in England; Carlisle named for Cumberland's county town
4 Mar 1785 from part of Lancaster county, named for the 'Dauphin', title
of the eldest son of the French king; Harrisburg named for its founder, John
Harris
26 Sep 1789 from part of Chester county, named for the Delaware River,
which had been named for Lord de la Warr, governor of VA; Media named for its
central location in the county
18 Apr 1843 from parts of Clearfield, Jefferson & McKean counties, named
for the elk which used to roam the county; Ridgway named for Jacob Ridgway, a
local landowner
12 Mar 1800 from part of Allegheny county, named for Lake Erie, which
was named for the Erie Indians, attached to Crawford county until 1803; Erie
named because it was PA's port on Lake Erie
26 Sep 1783 from part of Westmoreland county, named for the Marquis de
la Fayette; Uniontown was originally Beeson's-town and renamed in allusion to
the federal union
11 Apr 1848 from part of Jefferson county, part of Venango county was added 31
Oct 1866; named for its extensive forests; Tionesta named for the Tionesta Creek
9 Sep 1784 from part of Cumberland county, named for Benjamin Franklin;
Chambersburg named for its founder, Benjamin Chambers
19 Apr 1851 from part of Bedford county, baned for Robert Fulton of steamboat
fame; McConnellsburg named for Daniel McConnell who laid it out
9 Feb 1796 from part of Washington county, named for General Nathaniel
Greene; Waynesburg named for Major General Anthony Wayne
20 Sep 1787 from part of Bedford county, named for its county seat,
Huntingdon, which was named for the Countess of Huntingdon in England
30 Mar 1803 from parts of Lycoming & Westmoreland counties, probably
named for the Indiana Territory; Indiana
26 Mar 1804 from part of Lycoming county, named for President Thomas
Jefferson; Brookville said to be named for the numerous streams in the area
2 Mar 1831 from part of Mifflin county, named for Juniata River, in
turned named for the Indian word said to mean 'people of the standing stone';
Mifflintown named for Governor Thomas Mifflin
the last county created; 13 Aug 1878 from part of Luzerne county, named for
the Lackawanna River which means 'a stream that forks'; Scranton was named for
the Scranton family
10 May 1729 from part of Chester county, named for Lancashire in
England; Lancaster named for the county town in England
20 Mar 1849 from parts of Beaver & Mercer counties, named for Perry's
flagship, "Lawrence", which had been named for Captain James Lawrence, a naval
hero; New Castle named either for Newcastle, England or New Castle, Delaware
16 Feb 1813 from parts of Dauphin & Lancaster counties, named for the former
Lebanon Twp, with the Biblical meaning 'white mountain'; Lebanon
6 Mar 1812 from part of Northampton county, named for the Lehigh River,
which came from an Indian word meaning 'where there are forks'; Allentown named
for Chief Justice William Allen, a local landowner
25 Sep 1786 from part of Northumberland county, named for the Chevalier
de la Luzerne, French minister to the US; Wilkes-Barre named for two MPs, John
Wilkes and Isaac Barre, advocates of American rights
13 Apr 1795 from part of Northumberland county, named for Lycoming
Creek, which was named for the Delaware Indian word of 'sandy or gravelly
creek'; Williamsport attributed to both Judge William Hepburn and to William
Ross, an early boatman
26 Mar 1804 from part of Lycoming county, attached to Centre county until
1814, then combined with Potter county until fully organized in 1826; named for
Governor Thomas McKean; Smethport named for Raymond & Theodore de Smeth,
Amsterdam bankers
12 Mar 1800 from part of Allegheny county, named for General Hugh
Mercer; Mercer
19 Sep 1789 from parts of Cumberland & Northumberland counties, named for
Governor Thomas Mifflin; Lewistown named for William Lewis, a local ironmaster
1 Apr 1836 from parts of Northampton & Pike counties, named for
President James Monroe; Stroudsburg named for Jacob Stroud, a settler
10 Sep 1784 from part of Philadelphia county; Norristown named for Isaac
Norris, a landowner
3 May 1850 from part of Columbia county, named for Madame Montour, a
woman of French & Indian descent who was prominent in Indian affairs; Danville
11 Mar 1752 from part of Bucks county, named for Northamptonshire,
England, home of Thomas Penn's father-in-law, the Earl of Pomfret; Easton was
named for the Earl's estate
21 Mar 1772 from parts of Bedford, Berks, Cumberland, Lancaster &
Northampton counties, named for Norhtumberland, England; Sunbury named for a
village near London, England
22 Mar 1820 from part of Cumberland county, named for Oliver Hazard
Perry, hero of the Battle of Lake Erie; Bloomfield, the official name, is named
for the clover that was in bloom when it was first laid out; the post office
refers to it as New Bloomfield
one of the original counties created in Nov 1682, named to signify
'brotherly love'; Philadelphia
26 Mar 1814 from part of Wayne county, named for General Zebulon Pike; Milford
probably named for Milford Haven, Wales
26 Mar 1804 from part of Lycoming county, remained attached to Lycoming
until 1814 when it combined with McKean until 1824, fully organized in 1835;
named for General James Potter; Coudersport named for Jean Samuel Couderc, an
Amsterdam banker
1 Mar 1811 from parts of Berks & Northampton counties, parts of Columbia
& Luzerne counties added 3 Mar 1818; named for Schuylkill River, Dutch for
'hidden stream'; Pottsville named for the Pott family, early settlers
2 Mar 1855 from part of Union county, named for Governor Simon Snyder;
Middleburg was located on Middle Creek, near the middle of the former Centre Twp
17 Apr 1795 from part of Bedford county, named for Somersershire,
England; Somerset
15 Mar 1847 from part of Lycoming county, named for Senator Charles C
Sullivan of Butler District; Laporte named for John La Porte, surveyer general
of PA from 1845-1851
21 Feb 1810 from part of Luzerne county, remained attached to Luzerne until
1812; named for the Susquehanna River; Montrose combines the French word for
'mountain' with Rose in honor of Dr R H Rose, a prominent citizen
26 Mar 1804 from part of Lycoming county, named for the Tioga River, from an
Indian word meaning 'the forks of a stream'; Wellsboro named for the Wells
family, prominent locally
22 Mar 1813 from Northumberland county, its name alluding to the federal
union; Lewisburg named for its founder, Ludwig Derr
12 Mar 1800 from parts of Allegheny & Lycoming counties, attached to Crawford
Co until 1 Apr 1805; named for the Indian name for French Creek; Franklin is
located at the site of Fort Franklin, both named for Benjamin Franklin
12 Mar 1800 from parts of Allegheny & Lycoming counties, attached to
Crawford county until 1805 and Venango county until 1819; named for General
Joseph Warren; Warren
28 Mar 1781 from part of Westmoreland county, named in honor of George
Washington; Washington
21 Mar 1798 from part of Northampton county, named for General Anthony Wayne;
Honesdale named for Philip Hone, president of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co
26 Feb 1773 from part of Bedford county, named for a county in England;
Greensburg named for General Nathaniel Greene
4 Apr 1842 from part of Luzerne county, named for the Wyoming Valley, from an
Indian word meaning 'extensive meadows'; Tunkhannock named for Tunkhannock
Creek, which means 'small stream'
19 Aug 1749 from part of Lancaster county, named for either the Duke of
York, a patron of the Penn family or Yorkshire, England; York
Pennsylvania Manual , vol 114; Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1999