Maxatawny Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania

Maxatawny Township
Township
A farm in Maxatawny Township
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Berks
Elevation	423 ft (128.9 m)
Coordinates	40°29′30″N 75°44′29″W
Area	26.3 sq mi (68.1 km2)
- land	26.2 sq mi (68 km2)
- water	0.04 sq mi (0 km2), 0.15%
Population	5,982 (2000)
Density	228.0 / sq mi (88 / km2)
Founded	1732
Timezone	EST (UTC-5)
- summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code	610
Location of Maxatawny Township in Pennsylvania
Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
Website: http://www.maxatawny.net/

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1980	5,269		—
1990	5,724		8.6%
2000	5,982		4.5%
Est. 2005	7,545		26.1%

Maxatawny Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,982 at the 2000 census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 26.3 square miles (68.0 km²). 26.2 square miles (68.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.15%) is water. Its villages include Bowers, Hinterleiter, Maxatawny, Mill Creek Corner, and Monterey. The township is in the Delaware watershed and most of it is drained by the Sacony Creek into the Schuylkill River. An area in the eastern portion is drained by the Little Lehigh Creek into the Lehigh River.

Adjacent townships

• Longswamp Township (east)
• Rockland Township (south)
• Richmond Township (southwest)
• Greenwich Township (northwest)
• Weisenberg Township, Lehigh County (north)
• Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County (northeast)

Maxatawny Township surrounds the borough of Kutztown, and touches Lyons to the south and Topton to the east. Its main east-to-west route is U.S. Highway 222, from which Route 737 extends north to Interstate 78 in Krumsville and to Kempton. Other primary local north-to-south roads are Topton Road/Long Lane, Kohler Road, and Noble Street.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,982 people, 1,348 households, and 997 families residing in the township. The population density was 228.0 people per square mile (88.0/km²). There were 1,384 housing units at an average density of 52.8/sq mi (20.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 96.05% White, 1.99% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.45% of the population.

There were 1,348 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the township the population was spread out with 13.9% under the age of 18, 45.6% from 18 to 24, 15.9% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 81.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.2 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $51,006, and the median income for a family was $57,813. Males had a median income of $38,092 versus $22,147 for females. The per capita income for the township was $15,586. About 3.4% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics and government

Legislators

• State Representative Gary Day, Republican, 187th district
• State Senator Judy Schwank, Democrat, 11th district
• US Representative Jim Gerlach, Republican, 6th district

Board of Supervisors

• Allen Leiby, Chair
• Dave Hoffman, Vice Chair
• Melvin Fishburn, Supervisor

Police

Maxatawny Township is served by the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police.

Education and culture

Maxatawny is served by the Kutztown Area School District. Kutztown University lies mostly in the township and straddles the boundary with Kutztown. The Pennsylvania German presence remains strong there despite more ethnically-diverse movement from metropolitan areas and significant numbers of Menonite continue to farm some of the township's land. Renninger's Antique and Farmers' Market and the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center of Kutztown University are located in Maxatawny Township, as well as the annual Bowers Chili Pepper Festival, held in September at DeLong Park.

External links

• Maxatawny Township Official Website
• Bowers Chili Pepper Festival
• Kutztown University
• Pennsylvania German Cultutal Heritage Center
• Renninger's Kutztown
• Antique Engine, Tractor and Toy Club Annual Show June 12-14, 2010
• Fleur-de-Lys Farm Market