Vernon 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 ...

Crawford County, Pennsylvania Crawford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,938. Its county seat is Meadville. The county was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named for Colonel W ...

, United States. The population was 5,309 at the 2020 census, down from 5,630 at the 2010 census. According to the township's website, Vernon Township is nicknamed the "Golden Link" due to its location between the county seat ( Meadville) and the largest natural lake in the state (

Conneaut Lake Conneaut Lake is the largest natural lake in Pennsylvania by surface area. It is located in western Crawford County, Pennsylvania, Crawford County near a Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, town with the same name. Its has a surface area of approximat ...

), as well as being the self-described business center of Crawford County.

Geography

The township is southwest of the geographic center of Crawford County and is bordered to the east by Meadville, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. French Creek, a southward-flowing 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 ...

, forms most of the boundary with Meadville, as well as the eastern boundary of the township north and south of Meadville. The township includes the unincorporated communities of Fredericksburg and Kerrtown, both in the east along the Meadville border.

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 ...

crosses the township, with access from Exit 147 (

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbered Highway System. While it ...

and

322 __NOTOC__ Year 322 (Roman numerals, CCCXXII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probianus and Iulianus (or, less frequently, year 1075 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

). From this exit it is north to

Erie Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

and south 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 ...

. US 6 and 322 lead northeast into Meadville and west to

. 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 0.03%, is 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 2000, there were 5,499 people, 2,395 households, and 1,599 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 2,599 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.45%

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 ...

, 1.00%

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 ...

, 0.29%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 0.45% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.18% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

, 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 0.56% of the population. There were 2,395 households, out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% 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, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.80. In the township the population was spread out, with 20.8% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $38,264, and the median income for a family was $46,420. Males had a median income of $36,272 versus $22,095 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 $21,808. About 3.7% of families and 6.1% 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 7.9% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The Township has an elected Board of Supervisors consisting of five elected Supervisors and a professional management staff that handles the day to day operations of the Township consisting of a township manager, currently Robert Horvat, and a secretary/treasurer Amie Steadman, along with other administrative staff. Township government agencies include a road department, planning board and zoning office, water authority, sanitation authority. Police services are contracted with the City of Meadville to handle all calls for law enforcement. As of October 2024, the residents of the township are represented in the state legislature by State Senator Michele Brooks and State Representative Brad Roae.

References

External links

Vernon Township official website
{{authority control Townships in Crawford County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania