Upper Hanover Township, Pennsylvania

History

Upper Hanover Township was formed from a portion of the original Hanover Township in 1741.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 21.2 sqmi, of which 20.2 sqmi is land and 1.0 sqmi, or 4.62%, is water. It is drained by Perkiomen Creek into the Schuylkill River and contains most of the Green Lane Reservoir. It consists mainly of rolling hills, and the only mountainous area is east of Palm on Mill Hill, which contains Montgomery County's highest point.

The township's villages include Chapel (also in Berks County), Fruitville, Geryville (also in Bucks County and pronounced with a hard "g"), Palm, and Perkiomen Heights.

Adjacent municipalities

• Marlborough Township (southeast)
• Upper Frederick Township (south)
• New Hanover Township (south)
• Douglass Township (southwest)
• Washington Township, Berks County (west)
• Hereford Township, Berks County (northwest)
• Upper Milford Township, Lehigh County (tangent to the north)
• Lower Milford Township, Lehigh County (northeast)
• Milford Township, Bucks County (east)

The following three boroughs form a cluster along Route 29 surrounded by Upper Hanover and are listed in north-to-south order:

• East Greenville
• Pennsburg
• Red Hill

Climate

The township has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) and is in hardiness zone 7a. https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/ | Jan dew point F = 20.2 | Feb dew point F = 21.5 | Mar dew point F = 27.2 | Apr dew point F = 36.9 | May dew point F = 48.0 | Jun dew point F = 58.9 | Jul dew point F = 63.2 | Aug dew point F = 62.7 | Sep dew point F = 55.9 | Oct dew point F = 44.2 | Nov dew point F = 34.5 | Dec dew point F = 25.0 | year dew point F = 41.6

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the township was 94.7% White, 1.5% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 0.5% were Some Other Race, and 0.7% were two or more races. 1.8% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,885 people, 1,737 households, and 1,433 families residing in the township. The population density was 241.6 PD/sqmi. There were 1,764 housing units at an average density of 87.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the township was 98.06% White, 0.70% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.33% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.

There were 1,737 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.4% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.5% were non-families. 14.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the township the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $65,018, and the median income for a family was $69,410. Males had a median income of $40,584 versus $30,701 for females. The per capita income for the township was $24,978. About 3.2% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

As of 2019, there were 75.17 mi of public roads in Upper Hanover Township, of which 16.93 mi were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 58.24 mi were maintained by the township.

Pennsylvania Route 29 and Pennsylvania Route 663 are the main highways traversing Upper Hanover Township. PA 29 follows the Gravel Pike on a northwest-to-southeast alignment through the township, while PA 663 follows John Fries Highway and Layfield Road on a southwest-to-northeast alignment. Other local roads of note include Church Road, Geryville Pike, Kutztown Road/Knight Road, School House Road, and Water Street.

Politics and government

Legislators

• US Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican, 1st district
• State Senator Tracy Pennycuick, Republican, 24th district
• State Representative Milou Mackenzie, Republican, 131st district

Board of Supervisors

Upper Hanover is a second-class township with five supervisors elected at-large.

• Richard Fain, Chairman
• Eugene Fried, Vice-chairman
• Dorothy Diehl, Assistant Secretary
• Ben Fiorito, Assistant Treasurer
• Steven Rothenberger, Realtor and habitat seller

Gallery

File:NEW GOSHENHOPPEN REFORMED CHURCH, EAST GREENVILLE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA.jpg|New Goshenhoppen Reformed Church File:Upper Hanover Township Bldg, MontCo PA 02.JPG|Upper Hanover Township Building just west of East Greenville. File:Hanover Inn, Palm PA 02.JPG|Hanover Inn. Palm. File:Post Office 18070, Palm PA.JPG|Post Office. Palm. File:St Lukes Hospital, Geryville PA 02.JPG|St. Luke's Hospital in the Montgomery portion of Geryville. File:Schultheis Carriage House, East Greenville PA 01.JPG|Farmhouse (ca. 1745).

References

References

1. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates".
3. [https://www.upperhanovertownship.org/services/general_information/brief_history.php Brief History]. Upper Hanover Township. Accessed 11 June 2024.
4. "PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University".
5. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
6. "Census 2020".
7. [https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/profile/PA#locality-tab Census 2010: Pennsylvania]. Usatoday.Com. Retrieved on July 21, 2013.
8. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
9. "Upper Hanover Township map". PennDOT.
10. "Montco Election Results".