Peters Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Peters Township | |
| Township | |
| Country |  United States |
|---|---|
| State |  Pennsylvania |
| County | Washington County |
| Area | 19.8 sq mi (51 km²) |
| - land | 19.6 sq mi (51 km²) |
| Population | 17,566 (2000) |
| Density | 896.6 /sq mi (346 /km²) |
| Timezone | EST (UTC-4) |
| - summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code | 724 |
 Location of Peters Township in Washington County
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 Location of Washington County in Pennsylvania
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 Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
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| Website: www.peterstownship.com | |
Peters Township is a township in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 17,566 at the 2000 census.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 19.8 square miles (51.2 km²), of which, 19.6 square miles (50.7 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (0.91%) is water. The main thoroughfares in Peters Township is U.S. Route 19 heading North and South, and East McMurray Road heading East and West.
[edit] Inner-township neighborhoods
[edit] History
Peters Township was incorporated in 1781 as one of the 13 original Townships of Washington County when it became part of Pennsylvania. Prior to 1781, the Peters Township area was part of Virginia. Over the years, portions of Peters Township were sectioned off to form other municipalities; eventually, leaving us with the 19.5 square mile present configuration.
Peters Township was named after William “Indian” Peters. There is uncertainty as to whether Mr. Peters was an Indian or a white man who traded with the Indians of the area. Regardless, the Indian name has long-been associated with Peters Township.
Some of the first settlers were the Wright Brothers (James & Joshua), James Matthews, John Sweringer, Rev. David Phillips, Andrew Dunlevy, Daniel Townsend and Robert Bell. Peters was initially a farming community and then later on coal became a major industry that resulted in the development of Hackett.
Peters Township remained a sparsely populated rural community until the 1950s. The 1950 population was 3,004. This steadily increased to our 2000 population of 17,566. In 1976, the Township’s Home Rule Charter became effective. This altered our form of government from the prevalent Second Class Township Supervisor format to the present Council-Manager form.
The Township’s current Arrowhead logo was adopted with the new Home Rule Charter. It was designed by local artist, Robert Chamberlain, who used an arrowhead found in Peters Township as the pattern.[1]
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 17,566 people, 6,026 households, and 5,091 families residing in the township. The population density was 896.6 people per square mile (346.2/km²). There were 6,221 housing units at an average density of 317.5/sq mi (122.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.81% White, 0.48% African American, 0.03% Native American, 1.09% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population.
There were 6,026 households out of which 41.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 77.5% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.5% were non-families. 13.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the township the population was spread out with 29.4% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $77,442, and the median income for a family was $86,661 (these figures had risen to $102,320 and $108,246 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[3]). Males had a median income of $68,147 versus $35,642 for females. The per capita income for the township was $36,159. About 1.1% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 1.5% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
The Peters Township School District (PTSD) has two Elementary Schools (Bower Hill Elementary School and Pleasant Valley Elementary School) that educate students in grades K-3. The secondary elementary school (McMurray Elementary School) educates students in grades 4-6. The Peters Township Middle School (PTMS) educates students in grades 7-8. The Peters Township High School(PTHS) educates students in grades 9-12.
[edit] References
- ^ "History of Peters Township"
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-context=adp&-qr_name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00_DP3YR3&-ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00_&-tree_id=3307&-redoLog=true&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=06000US4212559608&-format=&-_lang=en
