Caernarvon 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 ...

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the coun ...

, United States. The population was 4,252 at the 2020 census. It is often referred to as Morgantown, the township's largest village.

History

Caernarvon was so named by Welsh settlers after the town of

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. In 1718, William Davies and a band of Welsh settlers obtained land warrants stretching from the headwaters of the

Conestoga River The Conestoga River (), also referred to as Conestoga Creek (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through t ...

and reaching several miles downstream. When Lancaster County was established in 1729, this region was given the name Caernarvon Township in honor of its inhabitants. When a portion of Lancaster County was transferred to the newly organized Berks County in 1752, the new boundary ran through existing Caernarvon Township as well as neighboring Brecknock Township. Morgantown Historic District was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1995. On May 28, 2019, an EF2

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

hit Caernarvon Township, causing substantial damage to the area. Several residents and businesses were displaced as a result of the storm. It was the most powerful tornado to hit Berks County since the 1998

Lyons Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

tornado.

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 , of which is land and 0.11% is water. The township is partially located in the Hopewell Big Woods.

Adjacent townships

* Brecknock Township, Berks County (NW) * Robeson Township, Berks County (N) * West Nantmeal Township, Chester County (SE) * Honey Brook Township, Chester County (S) * Caernarvon Township, Lancaster County (SW) * Brecknock Township, Lancaster County (W)

Adjacent boroughs

* New Morgan (N) * Elverson (SE)

Recreation

A portion of

Pennsylvania State Game Lands The Pennsylvania State Game Lands (SGL) are lands managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) for hunting, trapping, and fishing. These lands, often not usable for farming or development, are donated to the PGC or purchased by the PGC with ...

, Number 43 and Number 52, are located in the township.Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 43
retrieved October 25, 2018Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 52
retrieved October 25, 2018

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 2,312 people, 888 households, and 658 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 925 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.79%

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 ...

, 0.30%

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 ...

, 0.78% Asian, 0.22% from other races, and 0.91% 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 0.87% of the population. There were 888 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.1% 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, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.05. In the township, the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $49,041, and the median income for a family was $57,574. Males had a median income of $37,639 versus $27,273 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 $21,250. About 2.9% of families and 6.1% 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 12.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

As of 2018, there were of public roads in Caernarvon Township, of which were maintained by the

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) is an agency created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate, and maintain the Pennsylvania Turnpike (both the mainline and the Northeast Extension). The commission consists of five members. Four memb ...

(PTC), were maintained by the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...

(PennDOT) and were maintained by the township. Caernarvon Township is a convergence point for several major highways. The most prominent of these is the

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike, sometimes shortened to Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road which is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in Pennsylvania. It runs for across the southern part of the st ...

(

I-76 Interstate 76 or I-76 may refer to: Transportation * Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska) (I-76), US * Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey) (I-76), running through Pennsylvania, US Other uses * ''Interstate '76'', a vehicular combat video game for W ...

), which follows a northwest-southeast alignment across the western and southern portions of the township. Interstate 176 follows the Morgantown Expressway northwestward across the central and northwestern portions of the township from its southern terminus at the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Pennsylvania Route 10 Pennsylvania Route 10 (PA 10) is a state route in southeastern Pennsylvania. Its southern terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 472, PA 472 in Oxford, Pennsylvania, Oxford. Its northern terminus is at U.S. Route 222 Business (Reading, Pennsylvani ...

follows Main Street and Morgantown Road along a southwest-northeast alignment through the central portion of the township. Pennsylvania Route 23 follows Main Street along an east-west alignment across the southern portion of the township, sharing a brief concurrency with PA 10. Finally,

Pennsylvania Route 401 Pennsylvania Route 401 (PA 401) is a east–west state route in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Berks and Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester counties, located in southeast Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 23, PA 23 ...

heads southeast along Conestoga Road from its western terminus at PA 23 in the southeastern corner of the township.

Education

The school district is

Twin Valley School District Twin Valley School District (TVSD) is a school district headquartered in Caernarvon Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, with an Elverson postal address. Profile page- Compare to the addressThe zoning map published by the township Within Ber ...

. The following are in the township (all of which have Elverson postal addresses):
Profile page
- Compare to the address
The zoning map published by the township
the district administration, the high school, and the middle school.

References

External links

* http://www.caernarvon.org {{authority control Townships in Berks County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania Welsh-American culture in Pennsylvania