Skippack Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Skippack Township
Township
Kuster Mill, built 1702
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Montgomery
Elevation 272 ft (82.9 m)
Coordinates 40°12′57″N 75°24′58″W / 40.21583°N 75.41611°W / 40.21583; -75.41611Coordinates: 40°12′57″N 75°24′58″W / 40.21583°N 75.41611°W / 40.21583; -75.41611
Area 14.0 sq mi (36.3 km2)
 - land 13.8 sq mi (36 km2)
 - water 0.2 sq mi (1 km2), 1.43%
Population 13,715 (2010)
Density 471.0/sq mi (181.9/km2)
Timezone EST (UTC-5)
 - summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Area code 610
Location of Skippack Township in Montgomery County
Location of Skippack Township in Pennsylvania
Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
Website: http://www.skippacktownship.org

Skippack Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,715 at the 2010 census. This represents a 110.5% increase from the 2000 count of 6,516 residents.

History

The Kuster Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.[1]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 14.0 square miles (36.2 km2), of which, 13.8 square miles (35.8 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km2) of it (1.14%) is water. The 2006 Skippack Township Municipal Directory lists the population as 9,920 (including 3,404 at Graterford Prison.) The Perkiomen Creek forms its natural western boundary and drains it into the Schuylkill River. Its villages include Creamery, Lucon, Providence Square (also in Worcester Township,) and Skippack.

Neighboring municipalities

Institutions

The main industry is the State Correctional Institution – Graterford. Situated on over 1,700 acres (6.9 km2) of state land, the facility, built in 1929, is Pennsylvania's largest maximum-security prison, holding about 3,500 prisoners. SCI Graterford has an extensive prison farm on its 1,730 acres (7.0 km2) and the 62-acre (250,000 m2) prison compound itself lies within 30-foot (9.1 m) high walls surmounted by nine manned towers. Prison factories and industries employ 21 civilian staff and 315 inmate staff. An example is the Garment Factory which provides inmates with shirts, trousers, insulated coveralls, baseball caps, bibs, and handkerchiefs.

The main attractions to Skippack are Evansburg State Park, the Central Montgomery Park and the historic shopping village, Skippack Village. The State Park offers a variety of recreational opportunities including hunting, fishing, horse back riding and an 18 hole golf course.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
19301,994
19403,22461.7%
19503,84319.2%
19604,72923.1%
19705,26511.3%
19805,7849.9%
19908,79052.0%
20006,516−25.9%
201013,715110.5%
http://www.dvrpc.org/data/databull/rdb/db82/appedixa.xls.

As of the 2010 census, the township was 75.0% White, 16.6% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 3.6% Asian, and 1.2% were two or more races. 4.7% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.[2]

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 6,516 people, 2,353 households, and 1,828 families residing in the township. The population density was 471.0 people per square mile (181.9/km2). There were 2,477 housing units at an average density of 179.0/sq mi (69.2/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 95.75% White, 2.16% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.91% Asian, 0.40% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population.

There were 2,353 households, out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.0% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 17.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the township the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 36.7% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $71,566, and the median income for a family was $78,043. Males had a median income of $52,423 versus $40,081 for females. The per capita income for the township was $30,199. About 1.1% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.6% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Presidential elections results
Year Republican Democratic
2016 48.53% 2,975 46.46% 2,848
2012 55.2% 3,115 43.6% 2,464
2008 50.3% 2,809 49.0% 2,737
2004 56.2% 2,522 43.4% 1,948
2000 56.1% 1,643 41.4% 1,211
1996 47.4% 1,010 37.8% 805
1992 43.4% 962 31.0% 687

Skippack Township is run by an elected five person Board of Supervisors, each of whom serve staggered six year terms. The current supervisors are Chairman Franco D'Angelo (R), Vice Chairman Paul Fox (R), Bill Parkins (R), Jeanene Friel (R) and Nick Fountain (R).

Other elected offices include the Tax Collector, Laurie Augustine (R), the Board of Auditors, Anna Marie Mosley (R) and Bohdan Marchuk (R) and the Constable, Rick Thornton (R).

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections operates the State Correctional Institution - Graterford within the township.[4]

References

  1. National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/profile/PA
  3. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  4. "Zoning Map." Skippack Township, Montgomery County. Retrieved on May 29, 2010.
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