East Rockhill Township is a
township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...
in
Bucks County
Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, United States. The original Rockhill Township was established in 1740 and was divided into East and
West Rockhill Townships in 1890. The population was 5,706 at the
2010 Census. East Rockhill is part of
Pennridge School District
Pennridge School District is located approximately north of Philadelphia in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The district
Pennridge School District, covers approximately with a total population of 45,000 and encompasses eight municipalities, includi ...
.
Pennridge Airport
Pennridge Airport is a public-use airport located one nautical mile (1.85 km) north of the central business district of Perkasie in East Rockhill Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is privately owned by Pennridge Development ...
is located in East Rockhill Township.
History
The
Levi Sheard Mill
The Levi Sheard Mill, also known as Sheard's Mill and the John S. Clymer Mill, is an historic, American grist mill that is located in East Rockhill Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places o ...
and
Sheard's Mill Covered Bridge
The Sheard's Mill Covered Bridge is located in East Rockhill Township and Haycock Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania next to the Levi Sheard Mill. The bridge was built in 1873, and is and , making it one of Bucks County's longest bridges. The ...
are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
It was also the location of the formerly listed
Mood's Covered Bridge.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (1.14%) is water.
Tohickon Creek
Tohickon Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River. Located entirely in Bucks County, in southeastern Pennsylvania, it r ...
flows along the northern edge of the township into
Lake Nockamixon
Lake Nockamixon is a reservoir in southeastern Pennsylvania, United States, and the largest lake in Bucks County. It is formed by a dam on Tohickon Creek and is the centerpiece of Nockamixon State Park. Swimming is not allowed in the lake, but bo ...
at its northeastern edge and eastward into the
Delaware River and drains most of East Rockhill. The southeastern side of the township is drained by the
East Branch Perkiomen Creek
East Branch Perkiomen Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of Perkiomen Creek in southeast Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edwar ...
into the
Perkiomen Creek
Perkiomen Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Schuylkill River in Berks, Lehigh and Montgomery counties, Pennsylvania.Gertler, Ed ...
and
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...
.
East Rockhill's villages include Hagersville, Rich Hill, Rockhill, Rockhill Station, Rock Ridge, Smoketown (also in West Rockhill), Sterners Mill, Weisel, and White Horse.
[MacReynolds, George, ''Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania'', Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, P1.]
Natural features include the
East Branch Perkiomen Creek
East Branch Perkiomen Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of Perkiomen Creek in southeast Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edwar ...
, Rock Hill, Three Mile Run, and
Tohickon Creek
Tohickon Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River. Located entirely in Bucks County, in southeastern Pennsylvania, it r ...
.
[
]
Adjacent municipalities
* West Rockhill Township (west)
* Richland Township (northwest)
* Haycock Township (north)
* Bedminster Township (east)
* Hilltown Township (southeast)
* Perkasie
Perkasie is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Perkasie is southeast of Allentown and north of Philadelphia.
Establishments in the borough early in the twentieth century included silk mills, brickyards, lumber mills, tile works, a stone c ...
(south)
Demographics
As of the 2010 census, the township was 95.8% White, 0.7% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% Asian, and 1.2% were two or more races. 1.6% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.
As of the census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 5,199 people, 1,828 households, and 1,427 families residing in the township. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 401.5 people per square mile (155.0/km2). There were 1,883 housing units at an average density of 145.4/sq mi (56.1/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 97.19% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.81% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.40% Native American, 0.38% Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.06% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.19% from other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.25% of the population.
There were 1,828 households, out of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.6% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.9% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the township the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.0 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $59,663, and the median income for a family was $70,645. Males had a median income of $43,134 versus $30,473 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the township was $24,594. About 2.0% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, East Rockhill Twp has a Hot-summer, Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(''Dfa''). ''Dfa'' climates are characterized by at least one month having an average mean temperature ≤ , at least four months with an average mean temperature ≥ , at least one month with an average mean temperature ≥ and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days are slightly humid in East Rockhill Twp, episodes of heat and high humidity can occur with heat index
The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is als ...
values > . Since 1981, the highest air temperature was on July 22, 2011, and the highest daily average mean dew point
The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will cond ...
was on August 12, 2016. The average wettest month is July, which corresponds with the annual peak in thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...
activity. Since 1981, the wettest calendar day was on August 27, 2011. During the winter months, the average annual extreme minimum air temperature is . Since 1981, the coldest air temperature was , on January 22, 1984. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values < . The average annual snowfall (Nov-Apr) is between and . Ice storm
An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on e ...
s and large snowstorms depositing ≥ of snow occur once every few years, particularly during nor’easter
A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use of ...
s from December through February.
Ecology
According to the A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 1907–1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system in widespread use in the United States. Some of this database has bec ...
U.S. potential natural vegetation
In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard event ...
types, East Rockhill Twp would have a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
(''104'') with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern Hardwood Forest (''25''). The plant hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 6b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of . The spring bloom typically begins by April 14 and fall color usually peaks by October 26.
See also
* Pennridge Regional Police
* http://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Bucks_County/East_Rockhill_Township/Rockhill_Station.html
References
External links
Township website
{{Authority control
Townships in Bucks County, Pennsylvania