Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania

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Cranberry Township is a township in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is classified as a Second Class Township and follows the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Second Class Township Code. The population was 23,625 at the 2000 census.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 History 4 Transportation 5 Business 6 Education 7 References 8 External link

[edit] Geography

Cranberry Township, PA is located in western Pennsylvania (40.70996 N, 80.10605 W). According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 59.1 km² (22.8 mi²). 59.0 km² (22.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.04% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 23,625 people, 8,352 households, and 6,556 families residing in the township. The population density was 400.2/km² (1,036.5/mi²). There were 8,724 housing units at an average density of 147.8/km² (382.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 96.80% White, 0.88% African American, 0.06% Native American, 1.35% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.

There were 8,352 households out of which 44.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.4% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.5% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% 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 3.23.

In the township the population was spread out with 30.7% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $66,588, and the median income for a family was $74,113. Males had a median income of $52,675 versus $33,155 for females. The per capita income for the township was $27,349. 2.9% of the population and 2.1% of families were below the poverty line. 3.4% of those under the age of 18 and 5.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Additional demographic information, compiled for city-data.com, can be found here.

[edit] History

Cranberry Township, Butler County, was founded in 1804. It is not to be confused with Cranberry Township, Venango County, formerly Fairfield Township (founded 1806), which is located only 60 miles away.

The most populated section of the township was originally known as Criders Corners. "Criders Corners" referred to the junction of the old Perry Highway (now Dutilh Road) and the Old Mars-Criders Road (now bypassed in favor of Pennsylvania Route 228). The crossroads was named for Jacob Crider (1823-1902), a trustee of Dutilh Methodist Church, who purchased 50 acres of land there in 1871. The township's current name is derived from the cranberry bogs which could be found in the area in days past. The township also includes part of the considerably smaller former town of Ogle, and other small areas formerly known as Fernway and Fox Run.

One reason for the township's tremendous growth is its location. Serving as the intersection of Interstate 76 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike) and 79 and Routes 19 and 228, the community is accessible from virtually anywhere. In addition, the completion of Interstate 279 in 1989 cut travel time to Pittsburgh under half an hour.

Several detailed histories of the township can be found here.

[edit] Transportation

Interstate 79 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike via Interstate 76 run through Cranberry Township. US Route 19 (i.e. Perry Highway) and PA Route 228 are also important main roads in the municipality. These four roads are connected by a newly-completed interchange: the $44.3 million, joint PennDOT/Pennsylvania Turnpike venture, named the "Cranberry Connector Project," was local nuisance for several years, but after opening in early 2004 has effectively provided direct, non-stop connection between the heavily-travelled roads. Additionally, the northern terminus of Interstate 279, an important artery that serves as the parkway north to Pittsburgh, is located a few miles south of the community. Cranberry Township is also the location of the northernmost bus service lines of the Port Authority of Allegheny County; however, some of these bus lines may be cut in upcoming Port Authority service reductions.

[edit] Business

Cranberry Township is one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States in both population and business^{[citation needed]}. While many residential communities are being built, even more so are retail stores. With a few exceptions such as a standard retail mall, a K-Mart (which closed while the company was in bankruptcy protection), and few specific restaurants, Cranberry Township has virtually every single store or restaurant imaginable for the Pittsburgh area.

In addition, Cranberry is also home to the Thorn Hill Industrial Park, where many businesses are headquartered; among them is the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, whose NewsWorks warehouse prints that paper as well as the USA Today for the entire Pittsburgh area. Also, Thorn Hill Industrial Park is the site of the headquarters of the American Eagle Outfitters clothing brand company. In 2005 Wellington Energy, a sub-division of Wellington Power Corporationlocated in Lawrenceville, opened in Cranberry and is continuing to grow as a leader in Electric & Gas Meter AMR Deployment and Project Management.

In many years past, Cranberry Township had no post office of its own, so residents and businesses located there shared ZIP codes with many surrounding cities and towns. Subsequently, their mailing addresses were quite confusing, with many people proclaiming the need for their own ZIP code. Cranberry Township finally secured its own post office in 1994 after demand on the other post offices serving the region became exceedingly heavy.

A favorite after-hours restaurant and casual meeting place for high school and college-age Cranberrians is Eat'n Park, which is on the western side of Route 19, and is actually located just over the southern boundary of Cranberry Township, in Allegheny County (for some strange reason, it still has a Mars, PA mailing address).

On 20 March 2007 Westinghouse Electric Company announced that it would be building a 140 million dollar research facility in Cranberry Township, employing over 3000 people.^[1]

[edit] Education

Children residing in the township chiefly attend schools of the Seneca Valley School District: There are four elementary schools in the district including: Connoquenessing Valley Elementary (K-4) located in Zelienople, PA, Haine Elementary (K-6) and Rowan Elementary (K-4), both located in Cranberry Township, and Evans City Elementary (K-6) in Evans City, PA; There are also three separate school on the Seneca Valley high school campus: Seneca Valley Middle School (7-8), Seneca Valley Intermediate High School (9-10), and Seneca Valley Senior High School (11-12), in Harmony, PA, United States. Attendance at one of the four elementary schools is based upon geographic location. Upon graduating high school, many of the teenagers from the middle-class town attend college. The largest percentage of them attend nearby Slippery Rock University. While Penn State University, University of Pittsburgh and Indiana University of Pennsylvania are also popular schools for recent high school graduates living in Cranberry Township.

[edit] References

[edit] External link

• Official Website