Oley Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the coun ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census, the township had a population of 3,620. Oley Township was originally formed in 1740 as a part of Philadelphia County, before Berks County was formed in 1752. The entire township was listed as a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

by the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1983.Phoebe L. Hopkins, 1982
NRHP Nomination Form for Oley Township Historic District
Enter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site. ''Oley'' is a Native American name purported to mean "a

hollow Hollow may refer to: Natural phenomena *Hollow, a low, wooded area, such as a copse * Hollow (landform), a small vee-shaped, riverine type of valley *Tree hollow, a void in a branch or trunk, which may provide habitat for animals Arts, entertai ...

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

was born in Oley Township November 2, 1734.Bruce, H. Addington, ''Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road'', New York: Macmillan, 1911, p. 6

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the township has a total area of 24.2 square miles (62.7 km), all land. It is drained by the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

via its tributaries of the

Manatawny Creek Manatawny Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone C ...

and Monocacy Creek. The township's villages include

Limekiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime (material), lime called ''quicklime'' (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this chemical reaction, reaction is: Calcium carbonat ...

(also in Exeter Township), Oley, Oley Furnace, Pleasantville, Spangsville, and Yellow House (also in Amity Township). Adjacent townships * Rockland Township (north) * Pike Township (northeast) * Earl Township (east) * Amity Township (southeast) * Exeter Township (southwest) * Alsace Township (west) * Ruscombmanor Township (northwest)

Transportation

As of 2019, there were of public roads in Oley Township, of which were maintained by the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...

(PennDOT) and were maintained by the township. Numbered highways serving Oley Township include

Pennsylvania Route 73 Pennsylvania Route 73 (PA 73) is a long east–west state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. It runs from PA 61 near Leesport southeast to the New Jersey state line on the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge over the Delaware River ...

Pennsylvania Route 562 Pennsylvania Route 562 (PA 562) is a state highway in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The route runs from U.S. Route 422 Business (US 422 Bus.) in St. Lawrence east to PA 73 in Boyertown. PA 562 is a two-lane undivided road its entire length, ...

and

Pennsylvania Route 662 Pennsylvania Route 662 (PA 662) is a state highway located in Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 422 (US 422) in Douglassville and its northern terminus is at PA 61 in Shoemakersville. The route is ...

. PA 73 follows an east-west alignment across the northern portion of the township. PA 562 follows Boyertown Pike along an east-west alignment on the southern edge of the township. Finally, PA 662 follows Memorial Highway along a northwest-southeast alignment through the center of the township, including a concurrency with PA 73 in the northwestern part of the township.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 3,583 people, 1,382 households, and 1,029 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,425 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.66%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.14%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.03% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population. There were 1,382 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 19.8% 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 2.58 and the average family size was 3.00. In the township, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $52,151, and the median income for a family was $58,045. Males had a median income of $40,882 versus $27,795 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $21,565. About 0.9% of families and 2.0% 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 ...

, including none of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

Gallery

Fisher House Oley Twp BerksCo PA.JPG, Henry Fisher House 413 Main Oley Village BerksCo PA.JPG, House on Main Street in Oley Village 211 Main Oley Village BerksCo PA.JPG, Barn on Main Street in Oley Village Milloth House 2 Oley Village BerksCo PA.JPG, Milloth House in Oley Village

References

External links

Township websiteMap of Oley Township Historic DistrictHistoric American Buildings Survey, Oley vicinityHistoric American Buildings Survey, Pleasantville vicinity
{{authority control Georgian architecture in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania placenames of Native American origin Populated places established in 1740 Townships in Berks County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania Victorian architecture in Pennsylvania