Lancaster County occurs as county located in the south central part of the state of Pennsylvania in the Susquehanna Valley. When of 2000, the people is 470,658. A vicinity is best known for its rich & fertile farmland including a Amish.

A land is mostly flat, lending itself to farming. A farmland of Lancaster County is considered to exist as among a virtually all fertile non-irrigated farmland in the globe. Popular crops include tobacco, soybeans, and corn. There are the big total of dairy farm & chicken farms as well.

History
A land, section of William Penn's charter, was first settled within 1718. It was a share of Chester County, Pennsylvania until May 10,1729 when it became the quaternary county in the state. Lancaster County was known as when Lancashire, England, a native home of one of the early settlers known as John Wright.

Law and government
A county seat for the county is Lancaster. the County government is headed by the board of leash Commissioners, one of whom must exist as from either a minority person. This means that, given Lancaster County's heavy Republican leanings, 2 of the Commissioners come normally Republicans & 1 is commonly the Democrat. This is presently a out break. Yet, there keep close at hand been hard efforts around retiring elections for the member of the best-wing Constitution Party elected as a third, "minority" commissioner, though none one efforts own borne fruit when of 2005.

Additionally to the Commissioners, county elector see the District Attorney, Coroner, Sheriff, Recorder of Deeds, Treasurer and Prothonotary.

Politics
Lancaster County's politics keep close at hand typically non been inside sync sustaining a rest of Pennsylvania or with a Northeast as a whole. Potentially whenever Pennsylvania strongly supported Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party, Lancaster was something of a Whig Party stronghold. A town and township of Clay are possibly known as when a celebrated Whig politician Henry Clay. Lancaster supported a Presidential campaigning of native boy (& Democrat) James Buchanan around 1856, but has been a Republican fastness ever since, inside spite of the several shifts in person loyalties & geographic bases through the United states as a whole it used to be that 150 years. Thaddeus Stevens, the noted Radical Republican, was Lancaster's Representative in the US House until his death around 1868.

Todays Politics
In todays world, Lancaster County votes irresistibly for GOP candidates in virtually each election for subject, state & local candidates. The total of factors might account for this. Lancaster County has the heavy total of churches (several of the babies extremely Conservative in theology), and a religious right has a great deal of popular trend lines. As well, a County is popularly thought to have a "Pennsylvania Dutch work ethic" & thus looks unfavourably in welfcome software download and a so-alleged activistic government that are associated sustaining a Democratic Person. the local Republican Persin besides has much of influence on elections, to the extent that it can become known as a political machine. Republican nature & severity is greatest inside rural and freshly suburban areas. Virtually all boroughs elect Republicans to local government too. Nevertheless, a city of Lancaster and Columbia are increasingly Popular, around a share due to increasing many minority elector. A few of the older suburbia about Lancaster returned little majorities for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, in section due to the moderate Republican make-up one suburban area. A county as a whole apparently lone votes for Popular candidates inside situations in which a Popular candidate is Pro-life / anti-abortion and a Republican candidate is Pro-choice / pro-abortion. This situation occurred in the 1990 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial election between pro-life Democratic Governor Robert P. Casey and pro-choice Republican Barbara Hafer, where Lancaster County voters backed Casey for re-election.

Geography
Lancaster County is bounded in the northwest by Dauphin County and Lebanon County, in the northeast by Berks County, in the southeast by Chester County and in the southwest by York County, separated by the Susquehanna River. South these are bounded by Cecil County, Maryland at the Mason-Dixon line.

Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,548 km² (984 mi²). Deuce,458 kilometer² (949 mi^Deuce) of these are l& and Ninety kilometer^Deuce (35 mi^Two) of these are a water supply. A aggregate vicinity is Trine.53% water supply.

Demographics
When of the census² of 2000, there are 470,658 people, 172,560 households, and 124,070 families residing in the county. A population density is 191/km² (496/mi^Deuce). There are 179,990 housing units at an typical density of 73/km^Two (190/mi^Deuce). A racial makeup of the county is 91.46% White, 2.76% African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.90% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Quint.68% of the people are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There is a traditionally big Christian population. A Mennonites and Amish are the virtually all easily-known in the county. There exists so the big Pennsylvania Dutch population.

There are 172,560 family away from which 33.70% own kids under a age of Xviii swallow the two, 59.90% come married couples living together, 8.60% have a female homeowner by owning there are no married man present, & Twenty-eight.10% come non-families. Xxiii.10% of everthing home come mass produced higher of people & Ennead.30% stand mortal dwelling alone world health organization is 65 years aged or even older. A typical home size is Deuce.64 & a typical personal size is Trio.Fourteen.

In a county, the people is spread retired by using Twenty-six.60% under a age of Eighteen, Nina from carolina.20% from either 18 to 2 dozen, Twenty-eight.30% from either 25 to 44, Twenty-one.90% from either 45 to 64, & Xiv.00% world health organization come 65 years aged or even older. A median age is 36 years. For each Centred females there are 95.X males. For each Hundred females age Xviii & terminated, there are 91.Sixty males.

Economy
Agriculture occurs as important a share of the economy. A land in a county is considered to become among the better non-irrigated farmland in the globe. Farming plays a big role in the economy possibly though the total of farms is decreasing due to people incubation. Generally, a front yard has a moo unemployment rate than the national norm.

Covered bridges
Baumgardener's Covered Bridge Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge Bucher's Mill Covered Bridge Colemanville Covered Bridge Eichelbergers Covered Bridge Erb's Covered Bridge Forry's Mill Covered Bridge Herr's Mill Covered Bridge Hunsecker's Mill Covered Bridge Kauffman's Distillery Covered Bridge Keller's Mill Covered Bridge Kurtz's Mill Covered Bridge Landis Mill Covered Bridge Leaman's Place Covered Bridge Lime Valley Covered Bridge Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge Neff's Mill Covered Bridge Pine Grove Covered Bridge Pinetown Bushong's Mill Covered Bridge Pool Forge Covered Bridge Red Run Covered Bridge Risser's Mill Covered Bridge Schenck's Mill Covered Bridge Shearer's Covered Bridge Siegrist's Mill Covered Bridge Weaver's Mill Covered Bridge White Rock Forge Covered Bridge Willow Hill Covered Bridge Zook's Mill Covered Bridge

Municipalities

Cities
Lancaster

Boroughs
Adamstown Akron Christiana Columbia Denver East Petersburg Elizabethtown Ephrata Lititz Manheim Marietta Millersville Mount Joy Mountville New Holland Quarryville Strasburg Terre Hill

Townships
Bart Township Brecknock Township Caernarvon Township Clay Township Colerain Township Conestoga Township Conoy Township Drumore Township Earl Township East Cocalico Township East Donegal Township East Drumore Township East Earl Township East Hempfield Township East Lampeter Township Eden Township Elizabeth Township Ephrata Township Fulton Township Lancaster Township Leacock Township Little Britain Township Manheim Township Manor Township Martic Township Mount Joy Township Paradise Township Penn Township Pequea Township Providence Township Rapho Township Sadsbury Township Salisbury Township Strasburg Township Upper Leacock Township Warwick Township West Cocalico Township West Donegal Township West Earl Township West Hempfield Township West Lampeter Township

Census-designated places
Bareville Bird-in-Hand* Brickerville Brownstown* East Earl Elm* Gap Gordonville* Hempfield* Holtwood* Intercourse* Lampeter* Landisville Leacock Leacock-Leola-Bareville Leola Maytown Neffsville* Paradise Reamstown Reinholds* Rheems Rothsville Ronks* Salunga Salunga-Landisville Smoketown* Willow Street

Colleges and universities
Millersville University of Pennsylvania Lancaster Bible College Franklin and Marshall College Elizabethtown College Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Harrisburg Area Community College Lancaster Theological Seminary

General Information
Telephone front yard code: 717