Penn 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 892 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

Penn Township was formed in 1828 when Muncy Township was divided for the fourth time. It is named for Penn Township in

Berks County Berks County (Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware River, ...

, which in turn is named for

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, the founder of

. Tobias and Isaac Kepner had migrated to eastern Lycoming County from Berks County and wanted their new home to have the same name as their old home. Much of the history of Penn Township can be found in the history of the Big Runaway and Muncy Township.

Lumbering Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

was the dominant industry in Penn Township during the mid-to-late 19th century. A man-made lake, Beaver Lake, was built to supply

water power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a ...

for a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

. The sawmill has long since disappeared but the lake remains.

Geography

Penn Township is in southeastern Lycoming County and is bordered by Sullivan County to the northeast, Franklin Township to the southeast, Moreland Township to the south, Wolf Township and the borough of Picture Rocks to the west, and Shrewsbury Township to the northwest, across

Muncy Creek Muncy Creek (also known as Big Muncy Creek) is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Sullivan County and Lycoming County, at Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long. The watershed of the creek has an area of ...

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 ...

crosses the northernmost part of the township in the Muncy Creek valley, leading northeast to Towanda and southwest to Hughesville and 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 ...

. The unincorporated community of Strawbridge is in the northern part of the township along US-220, and the community of Beaver Lake is in the east, next to the lake of the same name. 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 ...

, Penn Township has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.16%, are water. The northern and western parts of the township drain to Muncy Creek, which forms the northern border of the township and flows southwestward to 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 ...

near Muncy. The southern and eastern parts of the township, including Beaver Lake, drain south into Franklin Township to

Little Muncy Creek Little Muncy Creek is the major tributary of Muncy Creek in Lycoming and Sullivan Counties, Pennsylvania, United States. Via Muncy Creek and the West Branch Susquehanna River, it is part of the Susquehanna River drainage basin and waters from i ...

, a tributary of Muncy Creek.

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 900 people, 349 households, and 263 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 420 housing units at an average density of 15.8/square mile (6.1/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.89%

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 ...

, 0.44% Asian, and 0.67% from two or more races. There were 349 households, out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.6% were married couples living together, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% 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 3.01. In the township the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 112.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $40,735, and the median income for a family was $46,797. Males had a median income of $28,421 versus $22,000 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 $16,346. About 5.0% of families and 6.9% 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 8.1% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Townships in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1774 1774 establishments in Pennsylvania