Weisenberg Township is a
township in
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The population of Weisenberg Township was 4,923 at the 2010 U.S. census.
The township is a suburb of
Allentown in the
Lehigh Valley, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of of which are land and , or 0.18%, are water.
It is in the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
watershed and is drained by tributaries of
Jordan Creek into the
Lehigh River
The Lehigh River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward pat ...
to the east and by tributaries of
Maiden Creek into the
Schuylkill River to the southwest.
Weisenberg Township includes the villages of Haafsville, Hymensville,
New Smithville, Seiberlingville, Seipstown, Stines Corner, and
Werleys Corner.
Adjacent municipalities
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Lynn Township (northwest)
*
Heidelberg Township (tangent to the north)
*
Lowhill Township (northeast)
*
Upper Macungie Township (southeast)
*
Maxatawny Township (south)
*
Greenwich Township (southwest)
*
Albany Township (west)
Climate
The township has a
humid continental climate (''Dfa''/''Dfb'') and the
hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
s are 6a and 6b. Average monthly temperatures in Seiberlingville range from in January to in July.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000,
there were 4,144 people, 1,458 households, and 1,214 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,514 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.07%
White, 0.53%
African American, 0.02%
Native American, 0.43%
Asian, 0.29% from
other races, and 0.65% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.25% of the population.
There were 1,458 households, out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.9% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.7% were non-families. 11.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the township, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $63,631, and the median income for a family was $70,852. Males had a median income of $45,898 versus $32,656 for females. The
per capita income for the township was $27,163. About 1.8% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
History
Weisenburg Township was formed out of the "Backparts of Macunjy" and part of the Allemangel, and was established as a township in 1753. Weisenburg was named for the city of Weissenburg (now
Wissembourg), a fortress and town in
Alsace, from the region in which the majority of the townspeople had come. The first settlements took place in 1734, on and around the highlands in the vicinity of Ziegel Church.
[Extracted from ''Histories of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania'', by Alfred Mathews, published in 1884.]
Education
The township is served by the
Northwestern Lehigh School District.
Public safety
Fire protection is provided by the Weisenberg Township Volunteer Fire Department. Emergency medical services are provided by the Cetronia Ambulance Corps, who have a unit stationed at the Weisenberg Township Volunteer Fire Department. Law enforcement is provided by the
Pennsylvania State Police
The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and cr ...
.
Transportation
As of 2021, there were of public roads in Weisenberg Township, of which were maintained by the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and were maintained by the township.
Weisenberg is crossed east-to-west by
Interstate 78 and
U.S. Route 22, which has an interchange with north-to-south
Pennsylvania Route 863
Pennsylvania Route 863 (PA 863) is a state highway in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. The route runs from U.S. Route 222 (US 222) in Upper Macungie Township north to PA 143 in the community of Lynnport ...
in the south. Other roads of note in the township include Claussville Road, Holbens Valley Road, Lyon Valley Road, Seipstown Valley Road, and Werleys Corner Road/Sweitzer Road.
Notable people
*
Martin Brechall
Martin Brechall (c. 1757–1831) was an American fraktur (folk art), fraktur artist.
European in origin, Brechall came to the Thirteen Colonies sometime before the American Revolution, in which he fought; an 1818 pension application states that ...
, former
fraktur painter
*
Daniel Schumacher
Daniel Schumacher (c. 1728–1787) was an American fraktur painter. He was the first artist to use fraktur as a method of general record-keeping, rather than a document of important events.
Schumacher was born in Hamburg; his name is found on a s ...
, former
Lutheran pastor and fraktur painter
References
External links
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{{authority control
1753 establishments in Pennsylvania
Populated places established in 1753
Townships in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Townships in Pennsylvania