Visit Every county in Pennsylvania

Since I was travelling the eastern part of Pennsylvania for the wedding I was in on Friday, I decided to take the time driving back to hit the remaining eastern Pennsylvania counties that I knew I hadn’t been to along with three that I wasn’t sure. This finishes off that side of the state for me.

The new ones that I have now confirmed having been in include Northampton, Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna, Lackawanna, Wyoming and Sullivan counties (the last three being ones that I may have been in before, but wanted to ensure completion).

This just leaves Cambria and Huntington counties to complete all 67.

Counties visited between August 7 and 9th, 22 of 67.

In preparation for my travels this weekend, I was mapping out a route that will hit some more missing Pennsylvania counties. When I first made my list a year ago, I wasn’t sure if I’d been to this county or not. Thanks to Wikipedia, I am sure I’ve been there because this county houses “Fallingwater”.

Fallingwater, also known as the Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. Residence, is a house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The house was built partly over a waterfall in Bear Run at Rural Route 1 in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains.

Hailed by TIME magazine shortly after its completion as Wright’s “most beautiful job,” the home inspired Ayn Rand’s novel The Fountainhead, and is listed among Smithsonian magazine’s Life List of 28 places “to visit before …it’s too late.” Fallingwater was featured in Bob Vila’s A&E Network production, Guide to Historic Homes of America.

Later, he designed Kentuck Knob, a hexagonal Usonian style home, for the Hagan Family, in nearby Stewart Township, adjacent to Ohiopyle State Park. Kentuck Knob was one of the last, if not the last home Wright designed before his death.

I rode down to Harrisburg yesterday to meet with Harrisburg Area Community College about us doing a paramedic program through them in Potter County (where I live). The guy driving took me a different route than how I normally go, and it did save us about a half hour based on the section of Harrisburg that we visited. This route took me through one more of the counties that I needed to mark off.

Named after the first Governor of Pennsylvania, Mifflin County is located in central Pennsylvania with boundaries defined by the Ridge and Valley Appalachian Mountains. Some Amish and Mennonites reside in this county and speak Pennsylvanian German. Currently the school only offers French and Spanish foreign languages. Fiscally conservative school boards cut funding for Latin and German. There was little discussion when Latin was eliminated in 1985, but many people were outspoken when German was eliminated in the mid-1990s given the strong German heritage.

I drove a friend down to DC Tuesday night and came back on Wednesday. I took two different routes in order to hit a few of the counties that I hadn’t been in before, or weren’t sure if I had been or not. My travels took me through 21 of the 67 counties, almost a third. The counties I know I had been in before are shaded in blue, while the new ones are in magenta.

The new counties are Delaware, Berks, Schuylkill, Centre and Blair. Actually Centre and Blair I think I’ve been in before I just wasn’t sure.

This leaves me with just 11 counties to visit or confirm I’ve already visited (five of which I suspect I have).

I was talking with my mom on the phone last night about different Pennsylvania counties and she indicated that we have driven on route 60 through Beaver County. In fact, I threw up there the morning we were on our way to the airport back in 2002 for our flight to Alaska.

Beaver County houses two cities (Aliquippa and Beaver Falls), and thirty boroughs. Geneva College, Mountain State University-Center Township, Penn State Beaver Campus, Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry and the Community College of Beaver County are all found there. Back in May 1985, it was hit by a string of tornados that also dumped debris in my back yard in Crawford County.

Some of the attractions of this county include:

The Air Heritage Museum and Restoration Facility (specializing in WWII planes and artifacts)

Lapic Winery (with over 20 varieties of award-winning wines)

Old Economy Village (the third and final home of the Harmony Society from 1804-1905).

Darlington Polo (the oldest continuous polo club in existence since 1937)

First off there’s no easy online map that I’ve found that let’s me mark off these counties quickly and easily integrating road maps and cities to help determine what counties I’ve passed through on my travels. That being said, I know that I’ve been in 50 of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania. I also believe I’ve been in 8 more of them, and am pretty sure that I’ve not been in 9 of them. On the attached graphic, the 50 I’ve been to are in the bluish-purple shade. The ones I definitely believe I’ve not been to are in yellow, and the ones that I think I’ve been to but need to verify are in the light blue or cyan. I’m sensing some road trips coming up.