Summit 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 Erie 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 ...

. The population was 7,339 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 6,603 at the 2010 census.

Geography

The township is in central Erie County and sits on the high ground separating the streams flowing north and west into

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

, part of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

watershed, from those flowing south towards the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Walnut Creek, which flows west through Millcreek and Fairview townships to Lake Erie, rises near the eastern border of the township, while LeBoeuf Creek forms less than one mile to the west, flowing south to French Creek, a tributary of the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...

, and thus to the

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and Mississippi as well. The township is south of downtown Erie and is served by two exits from Interstate 90. 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 ...

, Summit Township has a total area of , all land.

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 5,529 people, 2,110 households, and 1,531 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 2,212 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.25%

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 ...

, 0.56%

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 ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.60% 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 0.34% of the population. There were 2,110 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.2% 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, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.4% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.03. In the township the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $41,688, and the median income for a family was $45,048. Males had a median income of $40,059 versus $22,057 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 $19,782. About 4.7% of families and 6.9% 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 10.6% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Much of Erie's commercial development has occurred along Peach Street ( U.S. Route 19). The township has recently seen the development of the new Presque Isle Downs and Casino, a racino owned by Eldorado Resorts, along with more than ten hotels and many highly rated restaurants. The township also has seen the construction of many new housing developments and recreational facilities. Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park is the sixth largest water park in the United States. Family First Sports Park holds many sporting events from soccer to basketball to golf.

Emergency response

Summit township's only fire department, Perry Hi-way Hose Company, is split into two fire stations, one on each side of the township. Station 42, at 501 E. Robison Road, currently houses a full fire station that contains Two ALS ambulances, a Paramedic truck, an engine, and a ladder. Station 43, at 8281 Oliver Road (replacing former station 43 at 8270 Peach Street), less than a mile from the Erie County 911 center, holds a heavy rescue, tanker, engine, a utility truck, and a brush truck. This fire house was built in 2009 and houses members of the live-in program. Station 43 also has a large attached social hall that holds fire house events and is rented out to the public for weddings, receptions, and birthday parties. Located behind station 42 is the Erie County regional fire training grounds. The training grounds are used by all fire departments, the Erie County haz-mat team, and Erie Airport fire/rescue. Props in the training grounds include a four-story non-burn training tower, a burn facility, a dumpster fire prop, a car fire prop, flammable gas prop, semi truck haz-mat prop, and roof prop. The facility is also host to the PEMA Emergency response group who funded many additional props for use by the Pennsylvania USAR team, Pennsylvania State Police SERT team, and Northwest Search and Rescue dogs team. The props that were brought in by the ERG includes multiple dog platforms, a rubble pile, and confined space and trench simulators.

References

External links

Summit Township official website
{{Coord, 41, 59, 59, N, 80, 00, 59, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Townships in Erie County, Pennsylvania