Armstrong County, Pennsylvania
[a] Little is known of the pre-Columbian history of the area that is today called Armstrong County, but the often cited starting point begins with the civilization known colloquially as the Mound Builders.Blockhouses built by the Lenape, not unlike the early European settler dwellings, were commonly seen around Ford City, Kittanning, South Buffalo, Brady's Bend, and Red Bank.Several tribes in the Allegheny River Valley, including the Lenni-Lenape, sided with the French during this time period, as their friendship appeared to be more advantageous to their own territorial claims against the British-friendly Iroquois Nations.In exchange for furs, freedom of movement in Lenape territory, and guerilla raids on British troops and settlers, the French supplied weapons and other European goods and offered military protection to the friendly tribes.This agreement and similar alliances with other tribes allowed the French to become more well dug-in along the Allegheny River, most prominently at Fort Duquesne in present-day Pittsburgh.One of the minor battles that erupted during the French and Indian War occurred at the present site of the Armstrong County seat, Kittanning, or Kit-hane-ink, as it was referred to by the Lenape, meaning "settlement by the main river."With the surrender of George Washington at Fort Necessity in 1754 and Braddock's defeat in 1755, the settlers on the Pennsylvania frontier were without professional military protection, and scrambled to organize a defense.The local Indians, mostly Lenape and Shawnee who had migrated to the area after European colonists had settled their lands to the east, had waited to see who would win the contest—they could not risk siding with the loser.Captain Jacobs was on an expedition led by Louis Coulon de Villiers that descended on Fort Granville (near present-day Lewistown) on the morning of August 2, 1756.Tamaqua eventually made peace with Pennsylvania in the Treaty of Easton, which enabled the British under General John Forbes to successfully mount an expedition in 1758 that drove the French from Fort Duquesne.Booming industries in the county such as coal, natural gas, plate glass, brick, ceramics, and iron created a strong local economy.There are six public libraries in Armstrong County:[20][21] 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 Armstrong County: Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data.Ambassador to Italy Andrew Jackson Faulk - born in Kittanning, third Governor of the Dakota Territory George L. Shoup, First governor of Idaho, United States senator US Congress: Samuel S. Harrison, Joseph Buffington Sr., Darwin Phelps, David Barclay, Joseph Grant Beale Daniel Brodhead Heiner, Jason Altmire PA State Senators: Eben Kelley, Donald C. White, Albert Pechan PA State Legislature: John S. Rhey, J. Alexander Fulton, John K. Calhoun, Franklin Mechling, Samuel B. Cochran, Timothy Pesci, Jeff Pyle, Abby Major PA Supreme Court: James Thompson John Gilpin - PA Constitutional Convention of 1873; namesake for Gilpin Township John F. Hunter, Ohio state legislature Donald R. Lobaugh, Freeport native, U.S. Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II Raymond Harvey, Ford City native, Medal of Honor recipient in Korean War David Alter - Freeport, PA medical doctor; scientist; inventor of spectrum analysis, the idea that every element has its own emission spectrum: a breakthrough development in spectroscopy.The published article was: On Certain Physical Properties of Light Produced by the Combustion of Different Metals in an Electric Spark Refracted by a Prism published 1854 Ed Hobaugh - Kittanning native, MLB baseball player from Kittanning; right-hand pitcher for Washington Senators 1961-63 Mickey Morandini, Leechburg an MLB second baseman and coach, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Toronto Blue Jays.Dick Starr, major league pitcher, 1947–1951, New York Yankees, Washington Senators Red Bowser, Freeport native, outfielder in Major League Baseball Broc Hepler - Kittanning native, professional motocross racer Ryan Hemphill, Apollo native, NASCAR driver Alex Kroll, professional football player for New York Titans (later Jets) and CEO of Young & Rubicam Jack Lambert - American Football 4-time Super Bowl champion All-Pro linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers Eric Ravotti, former NFL (Steeler) linebacker Mitch Frerotte - an American professional football player who played as a guard for four seasons with the Buffalo Bills.Bud Carson, former NFL coach, Steelers Defensive Coordinator for first two Super Bowl wins, helped develop the "Steel Curtain" Greg Christy, played at Freeport High School, American football player, Buffalo Bills Jeff Christy, played at Freeport High School, American football player, center for the Arizona Cardinals, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1992 to 2003 Nick Bowers, NFL tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders, Kittanning native Tim Levcik, American football player Zigmund "Red" Mihalik, Hall of Fame basketball official Teri Hope, actress Ralph Patt, jazz guitarist Don Taylor, actor and director Nellie Bly, Apollo native, journalist and adventurer, widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days and investigative journalism David Coulter, banker S.K.
CountyPennsylvaniaNamed forJohn ArmstrongKittanningTime zoneUTC−5EasternUTC−4Pennsylvania Historical MarkerCommonwealth2020 censuscounty seatAlleghenyWestmorelandLycomingContinental Congressmajor generalRevolutionary WarGreater PittsburghCrooked Creek Lake Recreation AreaMound BuildersLenapeSeven Years' WarFort DuquesneOhio CountryWestern PennsylvaniaFrench and Indian WarBattle of KittanningProvince of PennsylvaniaWorld War IIDoolittle RaidGeorge WashingtonFort NecessityMonongahela RiverGreat LakesShingasCaptain JacobsAmerican Civil WarFord CityJohn Baptiste FordPPG IndustriesPennsylvania CanalButler County Community CollegeCity of ParkerPittsburghEldertonElderton Jr/Sr High SchoolU.S. Census BureauAppalachian Regional CommissionAmerican Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North AmericaKiskiminetasBuffaloCrookedCowanshannockRedbankMahoningCarnahan RunothersMurphyNicholsonCogleyWayne TownshipBoggs TownshipGoheenvillePine TownshipMahoning CreekBradys Bend TownshipAllegheny RiverClarion CountyJefferson CountyIndiana CountyWestmoreland CountyAllegheny CountyButler CountyVenango CountyUS 422PA 28PA 56PA 58PA 66PA 68PA 85PA 128PA 156PA 210PA 268PA 356PA 368PA 536PA 839humid continental climatecensuspopulation densityAfrican AmericanNative AmericanPacific Islanderother racesHispanicLatinoGermanItalianAmericanEnglishPolishmarried couplesBlack or African AmericanOther/MixedRepublicanDemocraticThird party(ies)RepublicansDemocratsIndependentThird PartyJoseph A. PittmanPennsylvania's 41st Senatorial DistrictJason SilvisPennsylvania's 55th Representative DistrictAbby MajorPennsylvania's 60th Representative DistrictDonna OberlanderPennsylvania's 63rd Representative DistrictGlenn ThompsonPennsylvania's 15th congressional districtDave McCormick