Limestone Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

Limestone Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
Township
Map of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania highlighting Limestone Township
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Lycoming
Area
• Total	34.2 sq mi (88.5 km2)
• Land	34.1 sq mi (88.3 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation Template:GR	1,493 ft (455 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	2,136
• Density	62.7/sq mi (24.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
FIPS code	42-43352Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1216754Template:GR

Limestone Township is a township in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,136 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Limestone Township was established on December 4, 1824 by a decree of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. It was formed from parts of Nippenose and Wayne Townships. Limestone Township was originally known as Adams Township in honor of United States President John Adams until April 14, 1835 when the name as changed to what has deemed to be a more appropriate title.

The first European settlers in the Limestone Township area arrived as early as 1789. The early settlers thought that the land was barren due to the fact that the base of valley was largely free of trees. It was covered up dense thickets of thorny bushes. At first the land sold for as little as fifty cents and acre. After the initial settlers cleared the shrubbery and planted wheat, the land was found to be quite fertile and the price of the land rose dramatically to $5.00 per acre and by the 1890s the land was selling for as much as $100.00 an acre. Later settlers to Limestone Township established the communities of Collomsville, Oriole and Oval. This small towns were the locations of small taverns, general stores and sawmills. Much of the farmland in the southeastern portion of Limestone Township was purchased by the Williamsport Water Authority in the early 1900s as part of its watershed. Visitors to the "water company" lands can see the stone remains of the early settlers homesteads spread throughout the watershed.

Geography

Limestone Township is bordered by Washington Township to the south and east, Armstrong Township to the east, Bastress and Nippenose Townships to the north, and Clinton County to the west. As the crow flies, 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, the township has a total area of 88.5 km² (34.2 mi²). 88.3 km² (34.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.23%) is water. Limestone Township is the in the southwestern corner of Lycoming County.

Rauchtown Run sinks underground in Limestone Township only to emerge as Antes Creek several miles away.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 2,136 people, 689 households, and 580 families residing in the township. The population density was 24.2/km² (62.7/mi²). There were 732 housing units at an average density of 8.3/km² (21.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.78% White, 0.05% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.42% from other races, and 0.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.

There were 689 households out of which 44.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.5% were married couples living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.8% were non-families. 13.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the township the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 109.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.1 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $41,375, and the median income for a family was $44,219. Males had a median income of $31,543 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the township was $15,180. About 5.7% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

Meginness, John Franklin. History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania: including its aboriginal history; the colonial and revolutionary periods; early settlement and subsequent growth; organization and civil administration; the legal and medical professions; internal improvement; past and present history of Williamsport; manufacturing and lumber interests; religious, educational, and social development; geology and agriculture; military record; sketches of boroughs, townships, and villages; portraits and biographies of pioneers and representative citizens, etc. etc." (1st Edition ed.). Chicago, IL: Brown, Runk & Co. ISBN 0-7884-0428-8. Retrieved 2006-02-18. (Note: ISBN refers to Heritage Books July 1996 reprint. URL is to a scan of the 1892 version with some OCR typos). {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)