Straban 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 ...

Adams County, Pennsylvania Adams County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 103,852. Its county seat is Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Gettysbu ...

, United States. The population was 4,928 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Straban Township is located in central Adams County, adjacent to the eastern border of Gettysburg. A portion of the

Gettysburg National Military Park The Gettysburg National Military Park protects and interprets the landscape of the Battle of Gettysburg, fought over three days between July 1 and July 3, 1863, during the American Civil War. The park, in the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania area, is m ...

is within the township. 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 , or 0.46%, is water.

History

Founding

Straban Township was created in 1746 when the area was still part of Lancaster County. Named for

Strabane Strabane (; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,507 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Li ...

, a town in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, this spelling was in use as late as the 1870s. For the most part, the original boundaries remain unchanged to this day. York County was formed out of Lancaster County in 1749, and for the next 51 years, Straban Township was a part of York County, until Adams County was formed in 1800. The

Hunterstown Historic District The Hunterstown Historic District is a national historic district which is located in Hunterstown, Straban Township in Adams County, Pennsylvania. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. History and architectural ...

, Great Conewago Presbyterian Church and Wirts House 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 ...

Casino proposal

During 2006 there was debate about the proposed construction of a

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

in Straban Township near the intersection of

U.S. Route 15 U.S. Route 15 or U.S. Highway 15 (US 15) is a United States Numbered Highway, serving the states of South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from US ...

and

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route of the United States Numbered Highway System, with the highway traveling across the Northern U.S. With a length of , it is the third-longest U.S. Highway, afte ...

, not far from the East Cavalry Field battle site. Legislation enacted in 2005 known as "Act 71" permitted up to 60,000 slot machines to be located in casinos throughout the state in an effort to offset high property taxes. One of two available casino licenses was pursued by Chance Enterprises Inc. and Millennium Management Group for their proposed "Crossroads Gaming Resort & Spa". Many of the residents of neighboring Gettysburg and tourists believed that a casino near Gettysburg and the resulting increase in traffic would have had a negative impact on Gettysburg's hallowed ground. A group called "No Casino Gettysburg", made up of local citizens as well as students and faculty of

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about ...

, was formed to lobby against the proposal. On April 3, 2006, the Gettysburg borough council voted by 6–3 to support the proposal. The

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is a governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, founded in 2004 as the state licensing and the regulatory agency responsible for overseeing slot machines and casino gambling in the state. The ...

(PGCB) began hearings on the proposal on April 5, 2006, at Gettysburg College. A second hearing was held on April 7, 2006, in

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

, and a third and final hearing occurred on May 17, 2006, at Gettysburg College. On December 20, 2006, the PGCB opted not to award Crossroads a casino license, effectively killing the proposal. Crossroads' president soon announced that he would not appeal the decision. In February 2007, the activist group, No Casino Gettysburg, disbanded.

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 4,539 people, 1,687 households, and 1,233 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,816 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 95.86%

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 ...

, 1.43%

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 ...

, 0.18% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 0.90% from other races, and 0.90% 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 2.29% of the population. There were 1,687 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% 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, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.97. In the township, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males. The median income for a household in the township was $44,008, and the median income for a family was $51,979. Males had a median income of $30,231 versus $22,336 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 $19,530. About 4.5% of families and 5.4% 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 3.6% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The majority of Straban Township is in the

Gettysburg Area School District The Gettysburg Area School District is a mid-sized, rural, public school district which serves students in a area of Adams County, Pennsylvania. The district includes: Gettysburg Borough, as well as Cumberland, Freedom, Highland, Franklin ...

, while a portion is in the Conewago Valley School District.

Gettysburg Area High School Gettysburg Area High School is a public high school located in Straban Township, Pennsylvania, United States, with a Gettysburg postal address. It serves students from central, southern, and western Adams County, and is the sole high school o ...

, of the Gettsburg District, is in the township. - See inset, which shows the high school in the township limits. The Conewago District's comprehensive high school is New Oxford High School.

References

External links

Straban Township official website

Gettysburg Fire Department

United Hook and Ladder Co. #33

Adams Regional EMS
{{coord, 39, 52, 00, N, 77, 07, 59, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Populated places established in 1741 Townships in Adams County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania