Moreland Township, Pennsylvania - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Moreland Township is a township in Lycoming County

Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

-Appalachian Mountains and Allegheny Plateau:Lycoming County is divided between the Appalachian Mountains in the south, the dissected Allegheny Plateau in the north and east, and the valley of the West Branch Susquehanna River between these.-West Branch Susquehanna River:The West Branch of the...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, in the United States. The population was 1,036 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Williamsport

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...

, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

It was divided into three townships in 1822. One part kept the name Moreland and the other two parts were called Penn

Penn Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

Penn Township is a township in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The population was 900 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

and Franklin Townships

Franklin Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

Franklin Township is a township in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The population was 915 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

.

The Lairdsville Covered Bridge

Lairdsville Covered Bridge

The Lairdsville Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge over Little Muncy Creek in Moreland Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was built in 1888 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980....

was added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1980. The Houseknecht Farm

Houseknecht Farm

Houseknecht Farm is a historic house and farm located at Moreland Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The historic buildings are the farmhouse , three-gabled barn , three-bay machine / corn shed ; granary with small attached garage ; small machine shed ; smokehouse Houseknecht Farm is a...

was added in 2007.

The name

There are several stories about how Moreland Township was named. One story states that an early pioneer to the West Branch Susquehanna River Valley was climbing up and down the hills and upon reaching the top of a hill exclaimed, "more land!". Another story relates to the "sloppiness" of the earliest land surveys. An acre

Acre

The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

was not necessarily measured accurately. These particular acres were larger than they were supposed to be. The early settlers liked to say that they got "more land" to the acre here than they could have elsewhere. The most likely reason relates to an arcane definition of moreland, meaning "a hilly country".

Early settlers

A veteran of the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

ary War was the first settler in Moreland Township. Colonel George Smith migrated to Moreland Township from Montgomery County

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...

in 1790. He built a gristmill

Gristmill

The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...

there in 1796. Smith and his wife were the parents of 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls. The marriage of his daughter, Annie to a Quaker

Religious Society of Friends

The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...

named William Farr causes some controversy in the early history of Moreland Township. William Farr came from a strict Quaker family and they did not look kindly upon his choice of bride. The local Quaker congregation insisted that Farr confess that he had done wrong in marrying outside his faith

Faith

Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...

. Farr refused to do so and insisted that his Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

wife, Annie, was a good Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

woman. Farr was forced to choose between his Quaker faith and his Baptist wife. He chose his wife and converted to the Baptist faith. Colonel Smith's son, Jonathan, also had a marriage that proved to be interesting. He married Annie Simpson, the sister of John Simpson of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. John Simpson was the grandfather of Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

who became President of the United States. This family bond meant that many of the residents of Moreland Township in the mid-19th century were second cousins to the man who served as their President.

Geography

Moreland Township is bordered by Columbia

Columbia County, Pennsylvania

As of the census of 2000, there were 64,151 people, 24,915 households, and 16,568 families residing in the county. The population density was 132 people per square mile . There were 27,733 housing units at an average density of 57 per square mile...

and Montour Counties

Montour County, Pennsylvania

Montour County is located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2010, the county's population was 18,267. Its county seat is Danville. It is named for Andrew Montour, a prominent métis interpreter who served with George Washington during the French and Indian War. The county is part of the...

to the south, Muncy Creek and Wolf Townships to the west, Penn Township

Penn Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

to the north, and Franklin Township

Franklin Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

to the east. As the crow flies

As the crow flies

"As the crow flies" or beelining is an idiom for the shortest route between two points; the geodesic distance.An example is the great-circle distance between Key West and Pensacola, at either end of the U.S...

, Lycoming County is about 130 miles (209 km) northwest of Philadelphia and 165 miles (266 km) east-northeast of Pittsburgh.

According to the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the township has a total area of 23.9 square miles (62.0 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

At the 2000 census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, there were 1,036 people, 367 households and 311 families residing in the township. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

was 43.3 per square mile (16.7/km²). There were 391 housing units at an average density of 16.3/sq mi (6.3/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 99.52% White, 0.19% African American, 0.10% Native American, and 0.19% from two or more races.

There were 367 households of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.7% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.0% were non-families. 12.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.08.

Age distribution was 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.8 males.

The median household income

Median household income

The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...

was $41,528, and the median family income was $46,000. Males had a median income of $32,273 versus $24,464 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

for the township was $17,680. About 5.8% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

History

The name

Early settlers

Geography

Demographics

See also