Perry 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 Greene 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 1,393 at the 2020 census, down from 1,521 at the 2010 census.

History

Perry Township is the location of the westernmost point surveyed as part of the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...

in 1767. In the early 19th century, Perry Township was part of the western frontier, and immigrant families carved farms out of the forested hills. In the late 19th century, oil and gas was discovered here, bringing considerable prosperity to many of the township's residents.

Geography

Perry Township is in southern Greene County and is bordered to the south by the state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. Mount Morris, the largest community in the township, is in the southeast in the valley of

Dunkard Creek Dunkard Creek is a stream that flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 15, 2011 through Greene County, Pennsylvania and Monongalia County, West Virginia, near t ...

, an eastward-flowing tributary of the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , ), sometimes referred to locally as the Mon (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in nor ...

Interstate 79 Interstate 79 (I-79) is an Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States, designated from I-77 in Charleston, West Virginia, north to Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) and PA 290 in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is a primary thoroughfare t ...

passes through the eastern side of the township, with access from Exit 1 at Mount Morris. I-79 leads south to

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

, and north to

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 ...

. 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 , or 0.04%, are water.

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 1,521 people, 643 households, and 464 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 716 housing units at an average density of 23.6/sq mi (9.1/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.9%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.1% Asian, and 0.6% 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 0.3% of the population. There were 643 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% 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, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.76. In the township the population was spread out, with 20.4% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 30.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.8 years. For every 100 females there were 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males. For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household in the township was $52,167, and the median income for a family was $63,594. Male full-time workers had a median income of $48,036 versus $38,618 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 $26,776. About 5.0% of families and 7.8% 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 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Perry Township website
{{coord, 39, 44, 57, N, 80, 07, 32, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Townships in Greene County, Pennsylvania