Halfmoon Township is a township in

Centre County Centre County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,172. Its county seat is Bellefonte. Centre County is composed of the State College, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

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. It is part of the

State College State College is a borough and home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University. State College is the largest designated borou ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The township is synonymous with the Halfmoon Valley which is part of Happy Valley and the larger

Nittany Valley Nittany Valley is an erosion, eroded anticline, anticlinal valley located in Centre County, Pennsylvania, Centre County, Pennsylvania. It is separated from the Bald Eagle Valley by Bald Eagle Mountain and from Penns Valley by Mount Nittany. The va ...

. The population was 2,819 at the 2020 census, which is a 5.4% increase since the 2010 census.

History

The name "Halfmoon" is thought to have come from

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

-shaped markings on tree trunks engraved by indigenous peoples marking a trail through the valley. The first European to settle in Halfmoon was Abraham Elder in 1784, who came from Franklin County. He found an abandoned cabin and stayed there for the summer. The following fall, Elder returned to his family in Franklin County, and they returned in the spring of 1785, along with Elder's brother, David. In 1826, Clemson Delidge and his family built a few

log home A log house, or log building, is a structure built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. Logs may be round, squared or hewn to other shapes, either handcrafted or milled. The term "log cabin" generally refers to a smal ...

s on what would become known as "Tow Hill" or "Fruit Hill," an early

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 ...

settlement in the Half Moon Valley. The families on Tow Hill worked for farmers, hunted, and harvested iron ore which was sold to the ironworks at Pennsylvania Furnace. They also planted fruit trees, which may be the origin to the name "Fruit Hill." The etymology behind the name "Tow Hill" is not clear. One assertion is that ore cars were towed uphill on rail from the iron ore deposits. Another possible origin is that the hamlet was named after the Tow Hill settlement near

Columbia, Pennsylvania Columbia, formerly Wright's Ferry, is a borough (town) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 10,222. It is southeast of Harrisburg, on the east (left) bank of the Susquehanna River, ...

which was established as a community for

manumitted Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and ...

slaves along the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. White people in the neighboring villages referred to Black people on Tow Hill as "Tow Heads." The Delidge family moved to

Scotia Scotia is a Latin placename derived from ''Scoti'', a Latin name for the Gaels, first attested in the late 3rd century.Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p. 698. The Romans referred to Ireland as "Scotia" aro ...

and Marysville in neighboring Patton Township when a large scale iron ore operation started in the area. In the 1890s the operation ceased. The Abraham Elder Stone House and George Wilson Homestead are 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 ...

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 , all land. Halfmoon Township is bordered by

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

and Worth townships to the northwest, Patton Township to the northeast, Ferguson Township to the southeast and

Huntingdon County Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

to the southwest. Halfmoon Creek, a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of Spruce Creek and the

Little Juniata River The Little Juniata River, sometimes called the "Little J", is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Juniata River in the Susquehanna River D ...

, flows from the northeastern edge of the township, along Halfmoon Valley Road, through the communities of Stormstown,

Centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

, and Loveville before passing into Ferguson Township at Marengo.

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 2,667 people, 913 households, and 778 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 963 housing units at an average density of 42.6/sq mi (16.4/km). The racial makeup of the township was 97.3%

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 ...

, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.8% Asian, and 1.4% 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 1.1% of the population. There were 913 households, out of which 44.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79.1% 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, 2.3% had a male householder with no wife present, 3.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.8% were non-families. 10.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.19. In the township the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 35.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males. The median income for a household in the township was $98,911, and the median income for a family was $103,224. 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 $36,018. About 4.1% of families and 3.9% 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 2.5% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Pennsylvania Route 550 Pennsylvania Route 550 (PA 550) is a 36 mile (58 km) long state highway in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at PA 453 and PA 45 Truck east of Tyrone. The northern terminus is at PA 64 in Zion. The road is known ...

is the primary

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

for the township.

Education

Halfmoon Township is part of the

State College Area School District The State College Area School District (SCASD) is a large, suburban and rural public school district based in State College, Pennsylvania. The district's territory includes the borough of State College, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding towns ...

References

External links

Halfmoon Township official website
{{Coord, 40, 47, 00, N, 78, 01, 59, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Populated places established in 1784 Townships in Centre County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania