Ligonier 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 Westmoreland 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 United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Ligonier Township entirely surrounds, but does not include, Ligonier Borough, which is a separate municipality. The township's population was 6,058 at the 2020 census.

History

The Compass Inn was added to 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.

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 (0.31%) is water. The township contains the following communities: Buttermilk Falls, Darlington, Hillsview, Laughlintown, Longbridge, McCance, Oak Grove, Shirley, Speedwell, Rector, Waterford, and Wilpen.

Surrounding and inner neighborhoods

Ligonier Township has six borders including the townships of Fairfield to the northeast, Jenner (Somerset County) to the southeast, Lincoln (Somerset County) in the southeastern corner,

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

to the southwest, Unity to the lower northwest, and

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

to the upper northwest. Situated completely inside the township are the boroughs of Ligonier and Laurel Mountain.

Government

The township is classed as a township of the second class of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A five-person board of supervisors, elected for a six-year term, governs the township.

Public Services

In 2019 the Ligonier Township police and the Ligonier Borough police both combined their respective police departments to form the Ligonier Valley Police Department (LVPD). The LVPD is currently staffed by a Chief of Police, Sergeant and 11 patrol officers. The LVPD also employs a K-9 officer that is partnered with the Sergeant and also employs two school resource officers, one to patrol the three schools within Ligonier and another is assigned to the Valley School of Ligonier. The Patrol officers are responsible for patrolling the Ligonier Valley which includes the villages of Waterford, Darlington, Wilpen and Laughlintown, the Borough of Ligonier and Laurel Mountain Borough. The police department suffered tragedy in May 2015 when K-9 handler LT. Eric Eslary was killed in the line of duty in a motor vehicle accident. His K-9 Blek was also injured and made a full recovery from the accident. K-9 Blek died of natural causes in 2018. The Ligonier Township Municipal Authority (whose board members are appointed by the supervisors) provides water and sewage service to township residents. Fire protection services are provided by a 100% totally volunteer force, from three of the township's villages. The Ligonier Township Volunteer Fire Department #1 (in the village of Waterford). The Wilpen Volunteer Fire Department of Ligonier Township (in the village of Wilpen) and The Darlington Volunteer Fire Department (in the village of Darlington).

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 2000, there were 6,973 people, 2,914 households, and 2,089 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 3,556 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 99.21%

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 ...

, 0.13%

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 ...

, 0.04% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.42% 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 0.27% of the population. There were 2,914 households, out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.0% 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, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.82. In the township the population was spread out, with 20.3% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $36,817, and the median income for a family was $46,715. Males had a median income of $35,969 versus $23,975 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 $25,049. About 5.8% of families and 8.2% 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 9.4% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Township of Ligonier official site

Ligonier Twp. Green/Off-Grid Living
{{authority control Townships in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh metropolitan area Townships in Pennsylvania