A village in

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, ...

is a geographic area within a larger political subdivision, usually 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, Ca ...

, although some villages are located within a

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 Ag ...

. Many of the villages in Pennsylvania are

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

centered around a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, but this is not always the case. The use of the term "village" in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a historical holdover that is unusual among U.S. states as the term village is used in other states to describe smaller self-governing municipal divisions that Pennsylvania calls "

boroughs 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 Ag ...

Geographic area

Villages in Pennsylvania are very often loosely defined by local residents with no definitive borders, other than possibly a

speed zone ''Speed Zone'' (also known as ''Cannonball Fever'' and ''Cannonball Run III'') is a 1989 American action comedy film set around an illegal cross-country race (inspired by the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash). The plot fo ...

along the highways serving them. They often represent the area of original settlement in an area.

Government

As villages in Pennsylvania are not political subdivision in and of themselves, they have no local governmental authority. Instead, they are part of, and under the authority of, their respective municipality. In townships, a village typically serves as the seat of the township government (for example, the town offices for Foster Township, McKean County, Pennsylvania are located in the village of Foster Brook).

References

{{reflist Local government in Pennsylvania

Geographic area

Government

See also

References