Penn 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 ...

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the state of Pennsylvania, United States, in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census the population was 354,663. The county seat is Greensburg and the most populous community is ...

, United States.

History

Penn Township, officially known as the Township of Penn, was named after Pennsylvania founder

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

. The township was incorporated on February 23, 1855. In the early years after its founding, numerous

Scotch-Irish Americans Scotch-Irish Americans are American descendants of primarily Ulster Scots people, who emigrated from Ulster (Ireland's northernmost province) to the United States between the 18th and 19th centuries, with their ancestors having originally mig ...

came to the area to farm its rich land. Later in the township's history, coal mining contributed heavily to the economy. Penn Township is also home to the

Bushy Run Battlefield Bushy Run Battlefield Park is a historical park operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) and thBushy Run Battlefield Heritage Societyon in Penn Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It wa ...

. The

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 1966, and is designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. In 1957

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

chose the township for a new lab facility.

Geography

Penn Township is located in the western part of Westmoreland County. It is approximately 25 miles east from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and seven miles west of Greensburg. The township is bordered by north by Murrysville, to the northeast by Salem Township, to the east by Hempfield Township, to the southeast by Jeannette, to the southwest by North Huntington Township, to the west-southwest by

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sa ...

, and to the west by Monroeville. Penn Township maintains nearly 100 miles of roadways. The township has three major transportation routes within its boundaries: Pennsylvania Route 130, Pennsylvania Route 993, and 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 ...

. 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 0 land. Penn Township is also part of the Turtle Creek (Monongahela River tributary) watershed.

Government

Penn Township was incorporated in 1855 and became a First Class

in 1958. The township is governed by five commissioners who are publicly elected and serve a four-year term. Penn Township also has a tax collector elected to serve a four-year term. Like all First Class Townships, Penn Township has a fully functioning police force.

Demographics

Population

As of July 1, 2021, Penn Township has a population of 20,346. This is a 1.5% increase from the 2020 US Census Population.

Age and Sex

Race

Education

Penn Township is within the Penn-Trafford School District. Penn-Trafford School District The district operates eight schools, six of which are in Penn Township: * McCullough Elementary School * Level Green Elementary School * Sunrise Estates Elementary School * Harrison Park Elementary School * Penn Middle School * Penn-Trafford High School The Murrysville branch of the

Westmoreland County Community College Westmoreland County Community College is a Public college, public community college in Youngwood, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1970 during an era of community college proliferation within the state. Its location on the suburban fringe was desi ...

is located along Mellon Road. Penn Township has an overall graduation rate of 96.3% and a bachelor's degree rate of 37.7%

References

External links

Penn Township - Official Website

''Penn-Trafford Star''

''Penn Trafford News - Official Newspaper''
{{Coord, 40, 22, 00, N, 79, 36, 59, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Townships in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania