Fairfield 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 ...

Lycoming County Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. ...

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 population was 2,833 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Williamsport

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

History

The exact date of the formation of Fairfield Township is not known, but court records point to sometime between August 1825 and December 1826. A petition for the division of Muncy Township was read in court in August 1825. Historical records do not record when the township was formed, but court documents cite Fairfield Township as the residence of a defendant in a lawsuit in a Columbia County court session in 1826.

John Andrew Shulze John Andrew Shulze (July 19, 1775November 18, 1852) was a Pennsylvania political leader and the sixth governor of Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Muhlenberg family political dynasty. Early life and education Shulze was born in Tulpehocken ...

retired to Fairfield Township following his 1823–1829 term as governor of Pennsylvania. Shulze bought in western Fairfield Township, now part of Montoursville, for $12,000. His plan was to spend his retirement farming in the

West Branch Susquehanna Valley The West Branch Susquehanna Valley of central Pennsylvania, United States, in the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians, is the low-lying area draining into the West Branch Susquehanna River southeast of the Allegheny Front, northeast of the Bald Eagle ...

. Shulze quickly made am impact in Fairfield Township. He built a brick house on his farm and donated an acre of land for the construction of Union Church, which was shared by the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

congregations of Montoursville and Fairfield Township. Ultimately Shulze's time in Fairfield Township can be described as a sad failure. His repeated attempts at

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

were unsuccessful. He also lost a lawsuit filed by William Cameron of Lewisburg for $3,835.49. Shulze was apparently unable to pay the suit, and his property was seized and sold to pay his debt. Governor Shulze then took up residence in Montoursville, lost even more lawsuits and eventually moved to Lancaster in 1846, where he lived until his death in 1852. As of 2007, Schulze's Montoursville home is the "Governor Schulze House"

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

. Fairfield Township's population has grown since the 1890 census when 468 residents were counted. The census of 2010 counted 2,792 residents. Fairfield Township has many residential neighborhoods that are contiguous with the neighboring

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

of Montoursville.

Geography

Fairfield Township is in southeastern Lycoming County and is bordered by Upper Fairfield Township to the north, Muncy Township to the east, the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the exten ...

to the south, the borough of Montoursville to the west, and Loyalsock Township to the northwest.

Loyalsock Creek Loyalsock Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River located chiefly in Sullivan and Lycoming counties in ...

forms the boundary between Fairfield and Loyalsock townships. Interstate 180 passes through the township, with access from Exit 20 (Fairfield Road) and Exit 21 (

Pennsylvania Route 87 Pennsylvania Route 87 (PA 87) is a north–south state highway located in northern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at exit 21 of Interstate 180 (I-180)/U.S. Route 220 (US 220) in Montoursville. The northern terminus is ...

U.S. Route 220 U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a spur route of US 20. It runs in a north–south layout in the eastern United States, unlike its parent route as well as conventionally even-numbered highways which run east-west. US 220 extends for f ...

runs concurrently with I-180 through the township. I-180/US-220 leads westward to Williamsport, the Lycoming

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, and I-180 leads southeastward to Interstate 80 near Milton. US-220 leads east to Hughesville. PA 87 runs through the northwestern part of the township, leading northeastward up the Loyalsock Creek valley to Forksville. 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 ...

, Fairfield Township has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.77%, are water.

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 2,659 people, 1,020 households, and 781 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 228.8 people per square mile (88.4/km²). There were 1,100 housing units at an average density of 94.7/sq mi (36.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.97%

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 ...

, 0.60%

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 ...

, 0.30% 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 ...

, 0.04% 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 0.71% 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 ...

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 0.53% of the population. There were 1,020 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.3% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.96. In the township the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $43,438, and the median income for a family was $49,570. Males had a median income of $37,034 versus $22,826 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 $19,807. About 4.1% of families and 6.4% 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 7.9% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Townships in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1742 1742 establishments in Pennsylvania