Muncy Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 41°14′35″N 76°48′4″W / 41.24306°N 76.80111°W / 41.24306; -76.80111
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Muncy Township,
Pennsylvania
570
FIPS code42-081-52280
GNIS feature ID2391498[3]

Muncy Township is a

Metropolitan Statistical Area
.

The

Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) Meeting House in Pennsdale that was built in 1799, and is one of the oldest buildings and perhaps the oldest house of worship in the county.[4]

History

Muncy Township, named for the

Wolf Township in 1834, and lastly Mill Creek Township in 1878.[5]

Samuel Wallis was one of the first permanent settlers in Muncy Township. Known as the "Land King", Wallis operated Muncy Farms which was for its time a large and very successful farm. Wallis first came to the

Quaker family. Wallis received a good education and inherited a large fortune. He sought to expand his fortune in various ways. He worked for a while as a shipping merchant in Philadelphia and became a surveyor. While working as a surveyor, Wallis was introduced to what would become his home in 1768. He gave up his job as a surveyor and began acquiring land up and down the West Branch Valley. His holdings are said to have extended as far west as Pine Creek from his base of operations in Muncy Township. Wallis held title to the land that has since become Muncy borough, Muncy Creek Township, Muncy Township, Montoursville, Loyalsock Township, Williamsport, Woodward Township, Piatt Township, Porter Township and the borough of Jersey Shore. Wallis' home was one of, if not the, first houses to be built in what is now Lycoming County. Samuel Wallis was such an important figure in the early history of Muncy Township that Fort Muncy was built on his land. This fort served as an outpost for the colonial army of Pennsylvania
, providing a safe haven for settlers from various Indian attacks.

Wallis' house survives (seen here in 1984) and is the oldest in the county today.

Samuel Wallis married Lydia Hollingsworth in Philadelphia on March 1, 1770. They settled at Muncy Farms soon after the marriage and continued to farm while Wallis continued to expand his land holdings. Wallis was forced to flee Muncy Farms during the "

Antes Creek
.

Samuel Wallis and

Supreme Court appointee of George Washington, became involved with Theophilus Cazenove and the Holland Land Company. This company bought up much of the land that is now northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York near the Great Lakes. Wallis worked as a surveyor and assessor for the land company, and Wilson was heavily invested in the operation. Wilson owed a tremendous debt to Wallis and others. He fled to Edenton, North Carolina, to escape his debts. Wallis followed him there in an effort to reach a settlement. They reached a preliminary agreement and agreed to meet again. Both men died before the debts could be settled. Wallis contracted yellow fever
on his return from North Carolina and died in Philadelphia on October 14, 1798. Wilson died in Edenton on August 21, 1798. Wallis' heirs were unable to collect Wilson's debt. Wallis himself left a large debt behind. The heirs were forced to sell Samuel Wallis' land for a fraction of his value to Henry Drinker, who gave the land to his daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Charles Hall. Muncy Farms became known as Hall's Farms.

Pennsdale is a village in Muncy Township. It was founded by a group of Quakers in 1799, who built a meetinghouse there. The first meetings were held in Samuel Wallis's home as early as 1791. The Quakers continue to hold meetings in Pennsdale.

The Reading-Halls Station Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[6]

Geography

Muncy Township is in southeastern Lycoming County and is bordered by

Wolf Township to the east, Muncy Creek Township and the West Branch Susquehanna River to the south, Fairfield Township to the west, and by Upper Fairfield Township to the northwest. Interstate 180 passes through the township, with access from Exits 15 and 17. U.S. Route 220 joins I-180 at Exit 15, just east of the Lycoming Mall, and the combined highway leads west 11 miles (18 km) to Williamsport. I-180 leads south 15 miles (24 km) to Interstate 80 near Milton, while US-220 leads northeast 55 miles (89 km) to Towanda
.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Muncy Township has a total area of 15.7 square miles (40.7 km2), of which 15.5 square miles (40.1 km2) are land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km2), or 1.43%, are water.[1] Besides Pennsdale, the township's villages include Chippewa and Halls.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
20101,089—
20201,1778.1%
2021 (est.)1,177[2]0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]

As of the

Latino
of any race were 0.66% of the population.

There were 418 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.1% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.7% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the township the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $36,111, and the median income for a family was $40,595. Males had a median income of $29,762 versus $22,135 for females. The

poverty line
, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Aug 14, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Bureau, US Census. "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2021". Census.gov. US Census Bureau. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  3. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ Jane C. Keller. "Pennsdale Meeting". Upper Susquehanna Quarter of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Archived from the original on 2007-04-15. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  5. ^
    OCR
    typos).
  6. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  7. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  8. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Muncy_Township,_Lycoming_County,_Pennsylvania&oldid=1190962881"