West Penn Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Schuylkill County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

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

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, 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 H ...

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 ...

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 __NOTOC__ Year 309 ( CCCIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Licinianus and Constantius (or, less frequently, year 1062 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

443 __NOTOC__ Year 443 ( CDXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday 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 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

, and

895 __NOTOC__ Year 895 ( DCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The Magyars are expelled from western Siberia, and settle in the Carpathian Basin, under the leadership of Árpád ( ...

. 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 () is a name derived from the Greek noun ἀνήρ ''anēr'', with genitive ἀνδρός ''andros'', which means "man". See the article on Andrew for more information. The Scandinavian name is earliest attested as antreos in a runeston ...

(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: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

, 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 widely ...

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 (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 4,442 people, 1,485 households, and 1,136 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,607 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.78%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.21%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.08% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 0.36% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino 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 recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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 ...

, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

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. Knowles was first elected in a special election in May 2009 to fill the vacancy left by Dav ...

, Republican, 124th district *State Senator

Dave Argall David G. Argall (born November 21, 1958) is an American politician who 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 m ...

, Republican, 29th district *U.S. Representative

Dan Meuser Daniel Philip Meuser ( ; born February 10, 1964) is an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district since 2019. A Republican, he previously served as the ...

, 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

{{Authority control Townships in Pennsylvania Townships in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania