Peters Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania

For other Pennsylvania townships of the same name, see Peters Township, Pennsylvania.

Peters Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Township
Buchanan's Birthplace State Park is in the township
Map of Franklin County, Pennsylvania highlighting Peters Township
Map of Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Franklin
Settled	1720
Incorporated	1751
Area
• Total	56.0 sq mi (145 km2)
• Land	55.9 sq mi (145 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Population (2000)
• Total	4,251
• Density	76.1/sq mi (29.4/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	717

Peters Township is a township in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,251 at the 2000 census.

History

The Church Hill Farm, Widow Donaldson Place, Findlay Farm, McCoy-Shoemaker Farm, and the White House Inn are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 56.0 square miles (145.1 km²), of which, 55.9 square miles (144.8 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (0.27%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,251 people, 1,622 households, and 1,270 families residing in the township. The population density was 76.1 people per square mile (29.4/km²). There were 1,718 housing units at an average density of 30.7/sq mi (11.9/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.81% White, 0.89% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.52% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.32% of the population.

There were 1,622 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.6% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.7% were non-families. 17.5% 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 2.62 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the township the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $41,740, and the median income for a family was $46,375. Males had a median income of $32,618 versus $23,285 for females. The per capita income for the township was $18,791. About 6.9% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, was born in Cove Gap in Peters Township. His birthplace has been protected as a Pennsylvania state park at Buchanan's Birthplace State Park.