East Lampeter Township is a township in central Lancaster County,

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. At the 2020 census the population was 17,834. East Lampeter Township is one of the six

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

s that border the city of Lancaster, all sharing the same ZIP code with Lancaster. Though the township is predominantly rural and agricultural, the busy highway U.S. 30, also known as the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

, crosses the township from the northwest to the southeast, traveling about eight and one-half miles. The two and one-half mile stretch bordering the city of Lancaster is very congested and serves many businesses including East Town Mall, the

Lancaster Mennonite School Lancaster Mennonite School is a private Christian school located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The Lancaster Campus, east of the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, serves students from Pre-K through twelve. The high school on the ...

Dutch Wonderland Dutch Wonderland is a theme park just east of Lancaster, Pennsylvania in East Lampeter Township, appealing primarily to families with small children. The park's theme is a "Kingdom for Kids." The entrance to the park has a stone imitation castl ...

amusement park,

Tanger Outlets Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. ( ) is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina that invests in shopping centers containing outlet stores in the United States and Canada. As of December 31, 2019, the comp ...

, The Shops at Rockvale, and several hotels and fast food businesses.

History

The

Herr's Mill Covered Bridge The Herr's Mill Covered Bridge was a covered bridge that spans Pequea Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is also sometimes known as Soudersburg Bridge. The bridge had a double span, wooden, double Burr arch trusses desig ...

, Michael Dohner Farmhouse,

Bird-in-Hand Hotel Bird-in-Hand Hotel, also known as the Bird-In-Hand Village Inn & Suites or the Rhoad's Hotel, is a historic hotel located at Bird-in-Hand, East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1852, on the site of several earli ...

, Christian Stauffer House, and

Witmer's Tavern Witmer's Tavern, is an historic structure that is located in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, just east of U.S. 30 on Old Philadelphia Pike. This building known as Witmer's Tavern should not be confused with the other Witme ...

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 v ...

. The

amusement park opened in the township in 1963. The former Wax Museum of Lancaster County History was also located in the township, directly adjacent to Dutch Wonderland, from 1969 to 2006.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 the ...

, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (0.30%) is water. Unincorporated communities and neighborhoods in the township include Zooks Corner, Hornig, Holland Heights, Witmer, Bridgeport, Eastland Hills, Smoketown, Bird-in-Hand,

Fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...

, Greenland, Ronks, and Soudersburg.

Demographics

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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 13,556 people, 5,342 households, and 3,739 families residing in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 679.5 people per square mile (262.4 per km²). There were 5,611 housing units at an average density of 281.2/sq mi (108.6 per km²). The racial makeup of the township was 92.13%

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 on ...

, 2.11%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

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 ...

, 0.07% Native American, 2.72%

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 ...

, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 1.85% 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 1.09% from two or more races. 3.87% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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. The township has a large

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

and

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

population. There were 5,342 households, out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.05. In the township the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males. The median income for a household in the township was $46,179, and the median income for a family was $54,494. Males had a median income of $36,718 versus $25,578 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 $22,744. About 4.9% of families and 6.5% 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 10.8% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

In 2017 the public school system is the Conestoga Valley School District. There is also a campus of the

in the township, as well as other private schools. The Lancaster campus of

Harrisburg Area Community College , mottoeng = Knowledge Restores Truth , established = 1964, accredited in 1967 , type = Public, Community College , president = John J. "Ski" Sygielski, Ed.D. , city = Harrisburg , state = PA , country = USA , undergrad = 19,000 , admini ...

is located in East Lampeter Township. File:Strasburg Baptist Church East Lampeter TWP LanCo.jpg, Strasburg Baptist Church File:6 horse team East Lampeter TWP LanCo PA 1.jpg, Six horse team mowing hay

References

External links

* {{Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1723 Townships in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania 1723 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies