West Penn Township is a township in Schuylkill 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, ...

, United States. The population was 4,383 in the 2020 census.

Geography

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 58.2 square miles (150.7 km²), of which 58.0 square miles (150.2 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.6 km²) (0.38%) is water. It extends from Blue Mountain in the south to the border of Tamaqua in the north and from the Carbon County border in the east to the

Little Schuylkill River The Little Schuylkill River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Schuylkill River in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It rises south of McAdoo He ...

in the west, which drains a part of its area. A sizable portion of West Penn is drained 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 ...

via the Mahoning and Lizard Creeks, which both originate in the township. West Penn is the largest township in Schuylkill County. The numbered state routes of West Penn are 309,

443 __NOTOC__ Year 443 ( CDXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Paterius (or, less frequently, year 1196 ' ...

, and

895 ' __NOTOC__ Year 895 (Roman numerals, DCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The Hungarians, Magyars are expelled from southern Russia, and ...

. West Penn's closest access to the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Northeast Extension is the Mahoning Valley Interchange east of Lehighton with U.S. Route 209. Its villages include

Andreas Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of B ...

(also in Carbon County), Clamtown, Dorset, Kepner (also in East Brunswick,) Leibeyville, Longacre, Mahoning Valley (also in Mahoning Township), Mantzville, Millers, Snyders, and South Tamaqua. The geographic center of West Penn is located approximately 24 road miles (38 km) north 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 ...

, eight road miles (9.7 km) south of Tamaqua, 15 road miles (24.1 km) east of Orwigsburg, and seven road miles (16.1 km) west of Lehighton.

Neighboring municipalities

* Tamaqua (north) * Walker Township (west) * East Brunswick Township (southwest) * Albany Township (south) * Lynn Township (south) * Heidelberg Township (tangent to the southeast) * East Penn Township (east) * Mahoning Township (northeast) * Summit Hill (northeast)

Climate

West Penn 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 ...

is 6a. Average monthly temperatures in Leibeyville range from 27.0 °F in January to 71.6 °F in July

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 incl ...

of 2010, there were 4,442 people, 1,485 households, and 1,136 families residing in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 66.4 people per square mile (25.7/km²). There were 1,607 housing units at an average density of 27.7/sq mi (10.7/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.78%

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 on ...

, 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, 0.23%

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 ...

, 0.34% 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 0.36% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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 0.73% of the population. There were 1,485 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.7% 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, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.97. In the township, the population was spread out, with 22.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.6 males. The median income for a household in the township was $39,276, and the median income for a family was $47,341. Males had a median income of $31,673 versus $21,649 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 $18,577. 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 2.8% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Board of Supervisors: Anthony Prudenti, Timothy Houser, Theodore Bogosh Treasurer: Karen Wittig Solicitor: Paul Datte, Esq. Engineer/Zoning Officer: William P. Anders Police Chief: Brian Johnson Fire Chief/Emergency Management Coordinator: Dennis Fritzinger Jr. Sewage Enforcement Officer: William C. Brior Planning Commission: Dean Meiser, Chairperson; Dave Frederick, Vice-Chairperson; Robert Miller, RoseAnne Georgiades, David Morgan Zoning Hearing Board: Robert Frycklund, Esq., Ronald Calarco, James Dean, David Imschweiler Tax Collector: Helene V. Zeigler Constable: John Sarge Penn Mahoning Ambulance: Val Coombe, President Road Department: Singleton Harvey, Road Master Park Commission: Blaine Seip, Chairman; Dennis Kabana, Vice Chairperson; Marlin Zehner, Secretary; Bill Tuckett, Treasurer; Darryl Fritz, Paul Barth, Scot Dietrich, Bruce Zehner, Robert Neumoyer

Legislators

*State Representative

Jerry Knowles Jerome P. Knowles (born July 30, 1948) is a former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 124th legislative district. He was first elected in a special election in May, 2009 to fill the vacancy left by Dave Arga ...

, Republican, 124th district *State Senator

Dave Argall David G. Argall, Ph.D. (born November 21, 1958) is a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, elected in a special election on March 3, 2009 following the death of fellow Republican James J. Rhoades. He was elected a member of the Pennsylvania ...

, Republican, 29th district *US Representative

Dan Meuser Daniel Philip Meuser ( ; born February 10, 1964) is an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist who is the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district. A Republican, he previously served as the secretary of re ...

, Republican, 9th district

Gallery

File:West Penn Twp Bldg, Schuylkill County PA 01.JPG, West Penn Twp Municipal Bldg. File:West Penn Twp Fire Co No 1, Schuylkill County PA 01.JPG, West Penn Fire Co - No.1 File:Municipal Dr, West Penn Twp, Schuylkill County PA.JPG, Municipal Dr.

References

{{Coord, 40, 43, 25, N, 75, 53, 14, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Townships in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania