Penn 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 Westmoreland 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.

History

Penn Township, officially known as the Township of Penn, was named after Pennsylvania founder

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

. The township was incorporated on February 23, 1855. In the early years after its founding, numerous

Scotch-Irish Americans Scotch-Irish (or Scots-Irish) Americans are American descendants of Ulster Protestants who emigrated from Ulster in northern Ireland to America during the 18th and 19th centuries, whose ancestors had originally migrated to Ireland mainly from t ...

came to the area to farm its rich land. Later in the township's history, coal mining contributed heavily to the economy. Penn Township is also home to the

Bushy Run Battlefield Bushy Run Battlefield Park is a historical park that is operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) and thBushy Run Battlefield Heritage Societyon in Penn Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the United States ...

. The

was 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 ...

in 1966, and is designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. In 1957 Carnegie Mellon University chose the township for a new lab facility.

Geography

Penn Township is located in the western part of Westmoreland County. It is approximately 25 miles east from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

and seven miles west of Greensburg. The township is bordered by north by Murrysville, to the northeast by Salem Township, to the east by Hempfield Township, to the southeast by Jeannette, to the southwest by North Huntington Township, to the west-southwest by

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...

, and to the west by Monroeville. Penn Township maintains nearly 100 miles of roadways. The township has three major transportation routes within its boundaries:

Pennsylvania Route 130 Pennsylvania Route 130 (PA 130) is a state highway located in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties in Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at PA 8 in Pittsburgh, and the eastern terminus is at PA 381 near Kregar. The hig ...

Pennsylvania Route 993 Pennsylvania Route 993 (PA 993) is a state highway located in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 130, PA 130 in Trafford, Pennsylvania, Trafford. The eastern termin ...

, and 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 ...

. 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 30.76 square miles (79.1 km²), all 0 land. Penn Township is also part of the

Turtle Creek (Monongahela River tributary) Turtle Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Monongahela River in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties in the U.S. state of Penns ...

watershed.

Government

Penn Township was incorporated in 1855 and became a First Class

in 1958. The township is governed by five commissioners who are publicly elected and serve a four-year term. Penn Township also has a tax collector elected to serve a four-year term. Like all First Class Townships, Penn Township has a fully functioning police force.

Demographics

Population

As of July 1, 2021, Penn Township has a population of 20,346. This is a 1.5% increase from the 2020 US Census Population.

Age and Sex

Race

Education

Penn Township is within the

Penn-Trafford School District The Penn-Trafford School District is a public school district that serves western Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania and a small portion of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The district is governed by a locally elected, nine member school board wh ...

. The district operates eight schools, six of which are in Penn Township: * McCullough Elementary School * Level Green Elementary School * Sunrise Estates Elementary School * Harrison Park Elementary School * Penn Middle School *

Penn-Trafford High School Penn-Trafford High School is a public high school located in Harrison City, Pennsylvania in Westmoreland County, and is the secondary school serving the Penn-Trafford School District. It is the result of several mergers of smaller school distri ...

The Murrysville branch of the

Westmoreland County Community College Westmoreland County Community College is a public community college in Youngwood, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1970 during an era of community college proliferation within the state. Its location on the suburban fringe was designed to attract ...

is located along Mellon Road. Penn Township has an overall graduation rate of 96.3% and a bachelor's degree rate of 37.7%

References

External links

Penn Township - Official Website

''Penn-Trafford Star''

''Penn Trafford News - Official Newspaper''
{{Coord, 40, 22, 00, N, 79, 36, 59, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Townships in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania