Susquehanna 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 ...

Dauphin County Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth-most populous city. ...

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 26,740 at the time of the 2020 census. This represents a 11.2% increase from the 2010 census count of 24,036. Susquehanna Township has the postal ZIP codes 17109 and 17110, which maintain the

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, ...

place name designation. The township is a suburb of Harrisburg and is connected to Marysville by the

Rockville Bridge The Rockville Bridge is the longest stone masonry arch railroad viaduct ever built, at . It has 48 70-foot spans. The bridge crosses the Susquehanna River about north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The eastern end is located in Rockville and ...

, the world's longest stone-arch rail bridge at the time of its completion.

History

Susquehanna Township is located adjacent to the city of Harrisburg in Dauphin County. It was named from the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

which runs along its western edge. On June 4, 1785, the state legislature created Dauphin County from part of Lancaster County. By that time, the territory of today's Dauphin County had been divided among the townships of Derry, Londonderry, Lower Paxtang and Upper Paxtang. The spelling "Paxtang" is from the original Indian name ''Peshtank'', which meant "standing water" and further morphed into "Paxton." Susquehanna Township was incorporated from part of Lower Paxtang on May 1, 1815. The first settlement where Susquehanna Township now lies was known as "Coxestown" and was laid out by Dr. John Cox Jr. of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on October 2, 1757. In honor of his wife, Ester, the town was renamed " Estherton" and was the second oldest town in Dauphin County (behind Middletown). In 1774, a second settlement, " Rockville", and a third in 1815, "

Progress Progress is movement towards a perceived refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. It is central to the philosophy of progressivism, which interprets progress as the set of advancements in technology, science, and social organization effic ...

" were settled. On January 2, 1952, Susquehanna became a First Class township via the Dauphin County Court. Up until the 1950s, the

Pennsylvania State Police The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police, state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both ...

serviced the township, with a township room space in Progress once dedicated to them to use as a substation as a gesture of thanks. In September 1955, Charles S. Hill was sworn in as the first police officer, and he used his own car for patrol duty. With continuing growth, he would become the first chief and by the early 1960s there would be four officers. 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 1975.

Geography

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 ...

, Susquehanna Township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 12.66%, is water. It is drained by the

, which separates it from

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

and

Perry County Perry County may refer to: United States *Perry County, Alabama *Perry County, Arkansas *Perry County, Illinois *Perry County, Indiana *Perry County, Kentucky *Perry County, Mississippi *Perry County, Missouri *Perry County, Ohio * Perry Cou ...

to the west. The north end of the township is on Blue Mountain, and Susquehanna Township's elevations range from approximately on the river to in the northeast. The township's numbered roads include

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

U.S. Route 22 U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a major east–west route and one of the original United States Numbered Highways, founded in 1926. It runs from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jer ...

U.S. Route 322 U.S. Route 322 (US 322) is a , east–west United States Highway, traversing Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The road is a spur route, spur of U.S. Route 22, US 22 and one of the original highways from 1926. A portion of it at one time was c ...

, and

Pennsylvania Route 39 Pennsylvania Route 39 (PA 39) is a state highway located in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. PA 39 runs from State Route 3009 (SR 3009, North Front Street) in Susquehanna Township near Harrisburg east to ...

. Other local roads include Elmerton Avenue and Progress Avenue.

Unincorporated communities and census designated places in Susquehanna Township

* Beaufort Farms * Edgemont * Estherton *

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

* Montrose Park *Paxtang Manor *

* Rockville

Adjacent municipalities

* Middle Paxton Township (north) * Lower Paxton Township (east) * Swatara Township (south) * Paxtang (south) *

(southwest and west) * Penbrook (southwest) * East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County (west) * Marysville, Perry County (northwest)

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 2020, there were 26,736 people, 10,529 households residing in the township. The population density was . The racial makeup of the township was 60.6%

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 ...

, 27.3%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 5.6% Asian, 0.00%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 3.7% 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 7.0% of the population. The median income for a household in the township was $68,674. 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 $34,875. About 9.1% of the population was 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 ...

Attractions

* The

National Civil War Museum The National Civil War Museum, located at One Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park (Harrisburg), Reservoir Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a private 501c(3) nonprofit promoting the preservation of material culture and sources of information th ...

is just inside the township boundary, though owned by the bordering municipality of the City of Harrisburg. *

Capital Area Greenbelt The Capital Area Greenbelt is a looping trail located in the area of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This 20-mile loop around Pennsylvania's capital city provides visitors and tourists with opportunities to hike, ride bicycles, skate, jog, fish, walk t ...

runs through the Township.

Politics and government

Legislators

*State Representative Justin Fleming, Democrat, 105th district *State Senator John DiSanto, Republican, 15th district *US Representative

Scott Perry Scott Gordon Perry (born May 27, 1962) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard brigadier general who is the U.S. representative for , serving since 2013. The district, numbered as from 2013 to 2019, is centered around Harrisb ...

, Republican, 10th district

Board of Commissioners

Susquehanna Township is a first-class township and elects nine commissioners by ward.

Other municipal positions

References

External links

Susquehanna Township official website
{{Coord, 40, 20, 00, N, 76, 52, 59, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Townships in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1815 1815 establishments in Pennsylvania