Washington 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 Lehigh 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, ...

. The population of Washington Township was 6,624 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: *Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County *Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taze ...

in the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.

History

The Vigilant Fire Company Firemen's Monument was added to 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 2004.

Geography

Washington Township is the northernmost in Lehigh County. According to the

U.S. 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 the ...

, the township has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.74%, are water. It is drained by the Lehigh River, which separates it from Northampton County to the east, and Blue Mountain separates it from Carbon County to the north. Its villages include Best Station, Emerald, Friedens, Lehigh Furnace,

Lehigh Gap The Lehigh Gap or Lehigh Water Gap is a water gap located in the townships of Lehigh, Washington, Lower Towamensing and East Penn in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It was formed by the Lehigh River where it cuts through the ...

(also in Northampton County,) Neffs (also in North Whitehall Township,) Newhard, Newside, and Slatedale.

Adjacent municipalities

* North Whitehall Township (south) * Heidelberg Township (west) * East Penn Township, Carbon County (north) * Lower Towamensing Township (tangent to the northeast) * Lehigh Township (east) * Slatington (east) * Walnutport (east)

Climate

The township has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Dfa''/''Dfb'') and the hardiness zones are 6a and 6b. Average monthly temperatures in Friedens range from in January to in July.Prism at Oregon State University
/ref>

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 6,588 people, 2,512 households, and 1,929 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 278.4 people per square mile (107.5/km²). There were 2,594 housing units at an average density of 109.6/sq mi (42.3/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.71%

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 ...

, 0.21%

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 ...

, 0.08% Native American, 0.41%

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% 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 0.35% 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 0.97% of the population. There were 2,512 households, out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.2% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 2.97. In the township, the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $50,587, and the median income for a family was $55,332. Males had a median income of $35,340 versus $26,967 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 $19,980. About 3.5% of families and 5.1% 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 3.0% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The township is served by the Northern Lehigh School District. Students in grades nine through 12 attend

Northern Lehigh High School Northern Lehigh High School is a public high school located in Slatington, Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Northern Lehigh School District. Students in grades 9 through 12 from Slatington, Pennsylvania, Slatington, Walnutport, Penn ...

in Slatington.

Transportation

As of 2010, there were of public roads in Washington Township, of which were maintained by the

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) is an agency created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate, and maintain the Pennsylvania Turnpike (both the mainline and the Northeast Extension). The commission consists of five members. Four membe ...

(PTC), were maintained by the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Yassmin Gramian. Presently, Pe ...

(PennDOT) and were maintained by the township.

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 ...

follows 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 w ...

's Northeast Extension along a northwest-southeast alignment through Washington Township, entering the

Lehigh Tunnel The Lehigh Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels that carries the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension (Interstate 476) under Blue Mountain north from U.S. Route 22 in the Lehigh Valley to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area between mileposts 70.7 to ...

near the north edge of the township. However, the nearest interchange is in South Whitehall Township. Local access to the township is provided by Pennsylvania Route 873, which crosses north-to-south from

Pennsylvania Route 248 Pennsylvania Route 248 (PA 248) is a long state highway in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 209 (US 209) in Weissport East, a CDP in Franklin Township. The eastern terminu ...

to PA Route 329 in Neffs and PA Route 309 in Schnecksville. An important east-to-west thoroughfare is Mountain Road, which proceeds west from PA 873 in Lehigh Gap to PA 309 north of New Tripoli. LANta serves the township with bus route 325.

References

External links

* {{authority control Townships in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania