Fairview 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 Erie 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. Situated on the southern shore of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...

, it was one of the county's sixteen original townships, and was founded in 1797. In 1998 Fairview Township annexed the former Fairview Borough. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the township's population was 11,136, which is an increase from the 2010 census of 10,102. It is part of the

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

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

One of Erie County's sixteen original townships, Fairview Township was established in 1797. It reportedly took its name from the utterance that year of a businessman, Colonel Thomas Forster, who said of his land purchase at the mouth of

Walnut Creek A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, ''Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true bo ...

: "This is the fairest view I have seen yet."Samuel P. Bates, ''History of Erie County, Pennsylvania,'' (Warner, Beers & Co.: Chicago, 1884), Township Histories, Chapter VIII, pp. 739-749.
/ref> In 1832, the township was downsized with the redistribution of part of its territory to the newly formed Girard Township. Early in the 19th century, stagecoaches traveled through Fairview. In 1844, the Erie Extension Canal began operating. By 1961, Interstate 90 and a local interchange were constructed in the township. The Sturgeon House, a historic home now serving as a museum, was 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 ...

in 1980. In 1998 Fairview Township annexed the former Fairview Borough.

Geography

Fairview Township is bounded to the north by

, to the west by Girard Township, to the south by Franklin Township, to the southeast by McKean Township, and to the northeast by Millcreek Township. The township includes the communities of Fairview and Avonia. 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 , or 0.66 percent, is 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 2010 there were 10,102 people, 4,018 households, and 2,831 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 347.7 people per square mile (134.3/km²). There were 3,711 housing units at an average density of 127.3/sq mi (49.1/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.61 percent

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 ...

, 0.62 percent

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 ...

, 0.01 percent Native American, 0.65 percent

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 ...

, 0.24 percent 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 0.67 percent 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 0.68 percent of the population. There were 4,018 households, out of which 36.0 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.1 percent were married couples living together, 7.2 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.9 percent were non-families. 16.9 percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.05. In the township the population was spread out, with 22.4 percent under the age of 18, 3.4 percent from 18 to 24, 26.5 percent from 25 to 49, 25.2 percent from 50 to 64, and 20.4 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $55,600, and the median income for a family was $61,764. Males had a median income of $45,818 versus $27,813 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 $26,397. About 2.3 percent of families and 3.6 percent 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 4.7 percent of those under age 18 and 3.1 percent of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Fairview Township is served by the Fairview School District. Schools in the district are: *Fairview Elementary School * Fairview Middle School * Fairview High School

Notable person

* Jim Hart, Major League Baseball manager for the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

and the Boston Beaneaters

References

External links

Fairview Township official website
{{Coord, 42, 01, 00, N, 80, 15, 05, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Populated places established in 1797 Townships in Erie County, Pennsylvania