Franconia 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 Montgomery 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 13,064 at the 2010 census.

History

Franconia Township was founded in the late 1720s. The name means "Land Of The Franks", and most of the settlers were Germans seeking religious freedom. The Bridge in Franconia Township 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 1988.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and 0.07% is water. It is in the Delaware watershed and is drained by the East Branch Perkiomen Creek and the West Branch Neshaminy Creek. The township's villages include Earlington,

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

, Morwood and Reliance. Route 113 crosses it from northeast to southwest and its other major road is north-to-south Allentown Road.

Neighboring municipalities

* Hatfield Township (southeast) * Towamencin Township (south) * Lower Salford Township (southwest) * Upper Salford Township (west) * Salford Township (northwest) * West Rockhill Township, Bucks County (north) *

Telford Telford () is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern b ...

(northeast) * Souderton (northeast) * Hilltown Township, Bucks County (east)

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the township was 93.2% White, 1.6% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 3.3% Asian, and 1.2% were two or more races. 1.8% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. At the 2000 census there were 11,523 people, 4,151 households, and 3,300 families living in the township. The population density was . There were 4,236 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 96.57% White, 0.86% African American, 0.08% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.89%. There were 4,151 households, 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.2% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.5% were non-families. 18.0% of households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.07. The age distribution was 25.2% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males. The median household income was $62,126 and the median family income was $67,209. Males had a median income of $49,952 versus $32,925 for females. The per capita income for the township was $25,751. About 1.4% of families and 3.1% 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 3.3% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

As of 2018 there were of public roads in Franconia Township, of which were maintained by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (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.

Interstate 476 Interstate 476 (I-476) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through ea ...

is the most prominent highway traversing Franconia, following the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension along a northwest-southeast alignment across the western and southwestern portion of the township. However, the nearest interchange is south of Franconia in Towamencin Township.

Pennsylvania Route 113 Pennsylvania Route 113 (PA 113) is a state route in eastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 30 Business (Chester County, Pennsylvania), U.S. Route 30 Business (US 30 Bus.) in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, Downingt ...

is the other numbered highway traversing the township, following a northeast-southwest alignment across northern and western portions of Franconia along Harleysville Pike. The northeastern edge of Franconia Township near Souderton is served by

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

bus Route 132, which runs between the Montgomery Mall and

Politics and government

Franconia is a Second Class Township governed by five supervisors, elected at-large for staggered six-year terms. The township is part of Pennsylvania's 53rd Representative District, represented by Rep. Steve Malagari since 2019.

References

External links

* * {{Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Townships in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania