Elizabeth 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 north central Lancaster 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 3,998 at the 2020 census.

Geography

According to the

United States 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 t ...

, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (1.07%) is water. The township's largest village is Brickerville. Some other smaller villages include

Elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

, Poplar Grove, Spring Lake Park, Speedwell, and small portions of Halfville, Hopeland and

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

History

Elizabeth Township was established in 1757 as a split off Warwick Township. It was split again in 1853 to create the present Clay Township to the east. In early colonial days the area now comprising Elizabeth Township played an important part in the development of the county. The village of Brickerville dates from 1741, when the area's first blast furnace was built to make cast iron from ore from the Cornwall mines. Stiegel glass manufacturing, dating from 1757, soon grew into an international export. Iron production grew, reaching its peak about 1780 and continuing until 1856. The supplying of charcoal from area forests to feed the furnaces over this period became an important related industry. The Hammer Creek Bridge, Stiegel-Coleman House, and

Speedwell Forge Speedwell Forge Mansion, also known as Speedwell Forge Homestead, is a historic home located at Elizabeth Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The ironmaster's mansion was built about 1760, and is a 2½-story, four bay wide and two bay deep ...

are listed on 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 ...

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 3,833 people, 1,303 households, and 1,088 families living 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 218.0 people per square mile (84.2/km²). There were 1,334 housing units at an average density of 75.9/sq mi (29.3/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.62%

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 ...

, 0.37%

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 ...

, 0.03% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.37% 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 0.34% 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 ...

or Latino of any race were 1.25% of the population. There were 1,303 households, out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.7% were married couples living together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.5% were non-families. 12.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.24. In the township the population was spread out, with 29.5% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 108.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.7 males. The median income for a household in the township was $50,720, and the median income for a family was $54,181. Males had a median income of $39,074 versus $26,354 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 $19,078. About 2.5% of families and 4.4% 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 5.5% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1741 Townships in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania