Centre County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,172. Its county seat is Bellefonte. Centre County is composed of the State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is part of the Central region of the commonwealth.
History
The land of the future Centre County was first recorded by James Potter in 1764. Potter reached the top of Nittany Mountain and "seeing the prairies and noble forest beneath him, cried out to his attendant, 'By heavens, Thompson, I have discovered an empire!'" Centre County was created on February 13, 1800 by Act 2092 of the Pennsylvania Legislature from parts of Huntingdon, Lycoming, Mifflin, and Northumberland counties. The act said that its inhabitants "labour under great hardships, by reason of their great distance from the present seats of justice, and the public offices" of their current counties. Its population was 4,112. Centre was among ten new counties carved from the existing twenty-six in early 1800. The county was named after the Centre Furnace.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water. Centre County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission. It is the fifth-largest county in Pennsylvania by area and its area code is 814.
Centre County has a humid continental climate (Dfb/Dfa at lower elevations).
Features
- Bald Eagle Valley
- Bald Eagle Mountain
- Nittany Valley
- Mount Nittany
- Penns Valley
- Tussey Mountain
Adjacent counties
- Clinton County (north)
- Union County (east)
- Mifflin County (southeast)
- Huntingdon County (south)
- Blair County (south)
- Clearfield County (west)