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Old 10-04-2021, 07:11 AM
 
219 posts, read 144,242 times
Reputation: 39

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Penn is a decent size (about 30 sq. mile) exurban/suburban to rural township in western Westmoreland County, that begins just a little east of Monroeville and just past the borough of Trafford (which it shares its school district with). It also borders the suburban areas of Murrysville to its north and North Huntingdon to the south and extends to Salem Township and the city of Jeannette to the east. It has a population of just over 20,000.

Penn Township was first incorporated in 1855 and was named after Pennsylvania's founder William Penn. It the township's early years, many Scotch-Irish immigrants came to the area to farm its rich land. Like much of Western Pennsylvania, its economy began to based primarily on agriculture and coal mining. Many mines began to be active within the township and even "patch" towns such as Claridge began to thrive as well. It became a first-class township in 1958 when some growth began to take place in the area, with post-war suburban neighborhoods such as Level Green to began to be built, with growth extending out from Monroeville. This area still represents the township's largest density of development.

Today, Penn Township has grown to be a relatively thriving exurban/suburban area in some parts. It saw steady growth throughout 1980 when its population reached 16,000. Then, it declined slightly in 1990 with much of the decline of the Pittsburgh area due to loss of industrial jobs. However, in the 2000 Census the township saw a very large growth boom of 23% due to several large housing developments being built. Since then, the township does seem to be still be growing or remaining stable, but no where near the growth of the 1990's. New subdivisions do get built in this day, but seems to be at a slower rate compared to suburban/exurban areas in the north and south/west. It grew 2% in 2010 and just 0.4% in 2020. While the township has many nice decent size housing plans, it seems like it has the disadvantage of lacking cohesion as a community, as it is a mix of housing developments on its western end near Monroeville as well as around rt. 130 near Harrison City and further northeast near the Murrysville border and still decent size farmland in the center and eastern portions of the township. The township even has several golf courses and recreational farms within it. There doesn't seem to be a large business district within the township, but some smaller roadside businesses along rt. 130 and a smaller strip mall with a Giant Eagle and a few other stores located near Harrison City, as well as some industrial businesses in the areas of rt. 130 and Pleasant Valley rd. The one major tourist attraction in the township is located in the eastern portion, near the Salem Township and Jeannette borders. It is Bushy Run Battlefield, which is a 218-acre historical park depicting the battle fought of the same name as part of Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763.

It seems as if in the future Penn Township should remain a decent subruban/exurban area with possibly slow but steady growth continuing to occur. Possibly, it little bit lack of cohesion has slowed growth a little bit. However, there is a proposed PA Turnpike interchange to be built near its crossing with rt. 130 near the center of the township. That may improve its highway access and foster more residential and commercial development within the township in the future if it gets built.
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Old 10-04-2021, 08:04 AM
 
Location: Western PA
10,344 posts, read 4,237,401 times
Reputation: 6417
I think PT is happy to be all residents, little traffic. the road up thru harrison city, export and manor gets a bit busy, but its QUIET over north huntingdon. I bet they miss the tax dollars tho
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