Lower Chichester 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 Delaware 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 3,469 at the 2010 census. It contains the

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

Linwood Linwood may refer to: Places Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of linden trees. Australia * Linwood, South Australia *Linnwood, Guildford, 11-35 Byron Road, Guildford, New South Wales Canada * Linwood, Ontario * Linwood, ...

History

The first mention of Chichester township is on June 27, 1683, when William Hewes was appointed constable of "Chichester liberty". On March 1, 1919, part of Lower Chichester Township was incorporated as the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

of Trainer.

Geography

The township is in southern Delaware County and is bordered by Upper Chichester Township to the north, the borough of Trainer to the east, the borough of Marcus Hook to the southeast, and

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three List of counties in Delaware, counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent County, Delaware, Kent, and Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex). As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, to the southwest. The southwest border is part of the 12-mile circle border between Delaware and Pennsylvania. Linwood, a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

, occupies the eastern half of the township and has nearly all of the township's population. 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 ...

, Lower Chichester Township has a total area of , all land.

Educational system

Linwood is a part of Chichester School District. Children within the township usually atten
Linwood Elementary School
(Grades K-4)
Chichester Middle School
(Grades 5–8), or Chichester High School (Grades 9–12). Holy Family Regional Catholic School in

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Birmingham city centre, Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a wards of the United Kingdom, war ...

, of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Archdiocese of Philadelphia () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia originally included all of Pennsylvania and Dela ...

, is the area Catholic school. It formed in 2012 from a merger of Holy Savior-St. John Fisher Elementary School in Linwood and St. Joseph Catholic School in Aston. Holy Savior School opened in 1917, and changed its name after St. John Fisher Church was established in Boothwyn in 1971 as the school at that time became the parish school of St. John Fisher.

Demographics

As of Census 2010, the racial makeup of the township was 87.6%

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 ...

, 7.9%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 3.3% 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 3.9% of the populatio

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 3,591 people, 1,278 households, and 916 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,356 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 96.35%

, 2.03%

, 0.14% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population. There were 1,278 households, out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% 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, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.32. In the township the population was spread out, with 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $38,846, and the median income for a family was $43,066. Males had a median income of $35,375 versus $22,955 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 $16,881. About 7.3% of families and 10.2% 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 12.5% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

The

operates Catholic churches. Holy Saviour Church in

opened in January 1914. Holy Saviour Church the congregation merged with St. John Fisher Church in Upper Chichester Township, on July 1, 2013, and worship services at Holy Savior ended in 2015; the archdiocese stated that the church needed $600,000 in repairs.

Transportation

As of 2018, there were of public roads in Lower Chichester Township, of which were maintained by

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 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

is the most prominent highway passing through Lower Chichester Township, following a southwest-to-northeast alignment through the western portion of the township. However, the nearest exit is in Upper Chichester Township. Pennsylvania Route 452 follows Market Street along a northwest-to-southeast alignment across the northeastern portion of the township, while

Pennsylvania Route 491 Pennsylvania, 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, Maryland to its south, West V ...

does likewise along Naamans Creek Road in the southwestern portion of the township.

References

External links

Lower Chichester Township official website
{{authority control Townships in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania