West Nantmeal Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania

West Nantmeal Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,170 at the 2010 census. It and East Nantmeal Township were originally part of a single Nantmeal Township, which was divided in 1739.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 13.5 square miles (35 km²), of which 13.4 square miles (35 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²), or 0.45%, is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 2,031 people, 715 households, and 566 families residing in the township. The population density was 151.4 people per square mile (58.4/km²). There were 745 housing units at an average density of 55.5/sq mi (21.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.54% White, 0.74% African American, 0.30% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.84% of the population.

There were 715 households out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.3% were married couples living together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the township the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $52,128, and the median income for a family was $55,776. Males had a median income of $40,938 versus $29,813 for females. The per capita income for the township was $21,348. About 2.5% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

• George Lippard (1822–1854), the brilliant but erratic 19th century American novelist, journalist, and playwright, was born on 1822-04-10 in West Nantmeal Township on the farm of his father, Daniel B. Lippard. Two years later the family moved to Philadelphia after his father was injured in a farming accident. Although almost completely unknown today, during the decade between 1844 and 1854 he was the most widely-read author in the United States. He befriended Edgar Allan Poe and advocated a socialist political philosophy, becoming an unheralded writer for the proletariat. Even young Mark Twain expressed admiration for his historical fiction stories known as "legends".

References