Bethel Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania

For other Pennsylvania townships with similar names, see Bethel Township, Pennsylvania (disambiguation).

Bethel Township
Township
Round Top Valley Farm in Bethel Township
Bethel Township Location of Bethel Township in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Bethel Township Bethel Township (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°30′03″N76°22′35″W / 40.50083°N 76.37639°W / 40.50083; -76.37639
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Berks
Area [1]
• Total	42.33 sq mi (109.64 km2)
• Land	42.22 sq mi (109.34 km2)
• Water	0.12 sq mi (0.30 km2)
Elevation	741 ft (226 m)
Highest elevation [2] (Blue Mountain, about 2 miles northeast of Shikellamy Scout Camp)	1,680 ft (510 m)
Lowest elevation [2] (Little Swatara Creek where it flows out of township)	430 ft (130 m)
Population  (2020) [3]
• Total	4,072
• Estimate  (2021) [3]	4,066
• Density	97.62/sq mi (37.69/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area codes	610, 717
FIPS code	42-011-06008

Bethel Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,072 at the 2020 census. ^[3]

History

Spannuth Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. ^[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 42.2 square miles (109 km²), of which 42.2 square miles (109 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) (0.05%) is water. It is drained by the Little Swatara Creek into the Swatara Creek and the Susquehanna River. Its natural northern boundary is Blue Mountain. Its villages include Bethel, Crosskill Mills (also in Tulpehocken Township,) Frystown, Grimes, Meckville, and Schubert.

Adjacent townships

• Upper Tulpehocken Township (east)
• Tulpehocken Township (south)
• Bethel Township, Lebanon County (west)
• Pine Grove Township, Schuylkill County (northwest)
• Washington Township, Schuylkill County (north)
• Wayne Township, Schuylkill County (northeast)

Recreation

Portions of the Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 80 and Number 110, through which passes the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, are located along the northern border of the township. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1980	3,312		—
1990	3,576		8.0%
2000	4,166		16.5%
2010	4,112		−1.3%
2020	4,072		−1.0%
2021 (est.)	4,066	[3]	−0.1%
Source: US Census Bureau

As of the 2000 census, ^[8] there were 4,166 people, 1,466 households, and 1,150 families residing in the township. The population density was 98.7 inhabitants per square mile (38.1/km²). There were 1,551 housing units at an average density of 36.7 per square mile (14.2/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.36% White, 0.55% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.77% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.56% of the population.

There were 1,466 households, out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.1% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.5% were non-families. 17.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.5% 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 3.22.

In the township, the population was spread out, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $47,015, and the median income for a family was $52,115. Males had a median income of $32,439 versus $23,929 for females. The per capita income for the township was $18,116. About 4.1% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

I-78/US 22 westbound in Bethel Township

As of 2020, there were 95.82 miles (154.21 km) of public roads in Bethel Township, of which 38.21 miles (61.49 km) were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 57.61 miles (92.71 km) were maintained by the township. ^[9]

Bethel Township's main west-to-east route is Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22, which spans the length of the township. Interchanges within the township link it with Pennsylvania Route 645, Pennsylvania Route 501 and Pennsylvania Route 419. Pennsylvania Route 183 also serves the township, briefly passing through the northeastern corner.

Notable person

• Sussel-Washington Artist, fraktur artist; the artist is anonymous, but produced a group of works associated with this community ^[10]

References

1. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
2. "Get Maps". USGS Topoview. US Geological Survey. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
3. Bureau, US Census. "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2021". Census.gov. US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
5. https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/advanced-viewer/ Archived March 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine The National Map, retrieved 27 October 2018
6. Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 80, retrieved 27 October 2018
7. Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 110, retrieved 29 October 2018
8. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
9. "Bethel Township map" (PDF). PennDOT. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
10. Solis-Cohen, Lita. "Fraktur bid sets record". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved April 11, 2019.

External links

• Bethel Township official site