The North Penn Valley is a region of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
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 and
exurbs
An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It sh ...
in
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 73rd-most populous county in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,55 ...
. It is somewhat congruent with the
North Penn School District
The North Penn School District (NPSD) is a large, suburban, regional public school district that consists of thirteen elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides sec ...
. It contains the boroughs of
North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
,
Lansdale
Lansdale is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely-populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rai ...
and
Hatfield as well as the surrounding townships. The area to its west has traditionally been more
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
, while the suburbs to its south and east are on the whole more affluent and densely populated.
The North Penn Valley has a total area of and a population of 97,957.
It is included in the greater
Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Etymology
The North Penn Valley is named after the
North Pennsylvania Railroad
The North Pennsylvania Railroad was a railroad company which served Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Bucks County and Northampton County in Pennsylvania. It was formed in 1852 and began operation in 1855. The Philadelphia and Reading Railway, ...
, or North Penn Railroad, which was built through the area in the 1850s. The boroughs of North Wales, Lansdale, and Hatfield developed along the North Pennsylvania Railroad line.
Geography
There are seven municipalities in the North Penn Valley. The four townships are
Montgomery Township,
Hatfield Township,
Upper Gwynedd Township, and
Towamencin Township. The three boroughs are
Lansdale
Lansdale is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely-populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rai ...
,
Hatfield and
North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
. The North Penn Valley is based around the Borough of Lansdale. Unincorporated communities that are part of the North Penn Valley include
Colmar
Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...
,
Kulpsville,
Line Lexington,
Montgomeryville and
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
. The North Penn Valley itself is primarily suburban, with urban centers around Lansdale. Most of the land in the valley is developed with suburban housing developments and commercial centers. The population density of the valley is .
Education
The North Penn Valley is served by public schools in the
North Penn School District
The North Penn School District (NPSD) is a large, suburban, regional public school district that consists of thirteen elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides sec ...
which operates
North Penn High School
North Penn High School is a part of the North Penn School District and is located in Towamencin Township, Pennsylvania, about a mile outside of Lansdale borough, 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia, along Valley Forge Road (Pennsylvania Route 363 ...
, three middle schools, 13 elementary schools, and an alternative education school. The district served about 13,000 students in 2014-2015 and employed about 2,000 staff members. Multiple private schools serve the valley. The Mater Dei School of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well as ...
and the
Calvary Baptist School, a pre-K-12th grade Christian school, are in Lansdale. Private high schools in the North Penn Valley include
Lansdale Catholic High School
Lansdale Catholic High School is a secondary school that is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, United States.
History
The school opened in September 1949 as Little Flower Catholic Hi ...
in Lansdale and
Dock Mennonite Academy in Towamencin Township.
Transportation
![Lansdale SEPTA station October 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Lansdale_SEPTA_station_October_2018.jpeg)
The Northeast Extension of the
Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's we ...
(
Interstate 476
Interstate 476 (I-476) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor throu ...
) has the Lansdale Interchange in Towamencin Township, about from downtown Lansdale. Major routes serving the North Penn Valley include
U.S. Route 202
U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massa ...
, which passes through Montgomery Township on a
parkway
A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...
alignment,
U.S. Route 202 Business, which passes through the commercial center of Montgomery Township,
Pennsylvania Route 63
Pennsylvania Route 63 (PA 63) is a state highway located in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. The western terminus of the route is at PA 29 in Green Lane, Montgomery County. The eastern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I- ...
, which runs west-east across the valley connecting to the Lansdale Interchange of the Northeast Extension and passing through Lansdale along Main Street,
Pennsylvania Route 152
Pennsylvania Route 152 (PA 152) is a state highway located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route travels north–south from an interchange with PA 309 located in the Cedarbrook neighborhood of Cheltenham Township in ...
, which passes through the eastern corner of Montgomery Township,
Pennsylvania Route 309
Pennsylvania Route 309 (PA 309) is a state highway that runs for 134 miles (216 km) through eastern Pennsylvania. The route runs from an interchange between Pennsylvania Route 611, PA 611 and Cheltenham Avenue on the border of Philadelphia an ...
, which runs north-south through commercial areas in Montgomery Township and Hatfield Township along
Bethlehem Pike
Bethlehem Pike is a historic long road in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that connects Philadelphia and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It began as a Native American path called the Minsi Trail which developed into a colonial highway called the King's ...
,
Pennsylvania Route 363
Pennsylvania Route 363 (PA 363) is a state highway located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania that is a spur of PA 63. The route runs from an interchange with U.S. Route 422 (US 422) in Audubon northeast to an inters ...
, which begins at PA 63 in Lansdale and heads southwest along Valley Forge Road and
Pennsylvania Route 463
Pennsylvania Route 463 (PA 463) is a state highway completely in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Its western terminus is at PA 63 in Hatfield Township and its eastern terminus is at PA 611 in Horsham. PA 463 runs t ...
, which begins at PA 63 in Hatfield Township and heads northeast to Hatfield before turning southeast and passing through Montgomeryville.
SEPTA Regional Rail
The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphi ...
provides commuter rail service to the North Penn Valley along the
Lansdale/Doylestown Line
The Lansdale/Doylestown Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line connecting Center City Philadelphia to Doylestown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Until 1981, diesel-powered trains continued on the Bethlehem Branch from Lansdale to Quakertown, Bethle ...
, with stations at
North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
,
Pennbrook,
Lansdale
Lansdale is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely-populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rai ...
,
9th Street,
Fortuna
Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...
,
Colmar
Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...
, and
Link Belt. The Lansdale/Doylestown Line connects the valley to
Center City Philadelphia
Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...
and
Doylestown, along with intermediate points.
SEPTA
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
operates three bus routes that serve the North Penn Valley, all of which serve Lansdale and the
Montgomery Mall. The
Route 94
The following highways are numbered 94:
International
* European route E94
Australia
* List of road routes in Western Australia#94, National Route 94 in Western Australia
* Burley Griffin Way (New South Wales)
* Dohertys Road (Victoria) (New ...
bus connects the region to the
Chestnut Hill section of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, the
Route 96 bus connects to the
Norristown Transportation Center
Norristown Transportation Center is a two-level multimodal public transportation regional hub located in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA, operated by SEPTA. It opened in 1989 to replace the older Norristown High Speed Line (Route 100) terminus ...
in
Norristown Norristown may mean:
* Norristown, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Norristown, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Norristown, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Norristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown is a municipality with home ...
, and the
Route 132 bus connects to
Telford
Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...
.
Freight rail service in the North Penn Valley is provided by the
Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad
The Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad is a short-line railroad operating on trackage mostly in Bucks and Montgomery counties to the north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created in 2011, taking over former operations from CSX Transporta ...
, a
short-line freight railroad that is headquartered in Lansdale. The Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad operates the Lansdale Yard in the borough and provides freight rail service out of Lansdale to several points in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia on SEPTA-owned lines.
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
interchanges with the Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad in Lansdale.
References
External links
PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control
Geography of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Lansdale, Pennsylvania
Regions of Pennsylvania