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Bensalem Township is a
township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...
in
Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mary ...
. The township borders the northeastern section of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
and includes the communities of
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...
, Bensalem, Bridgewater, Cornwells Heights, Eddington, Flushing, Oakford, Siles, Trappe, and Trevose.MacReynolds, George, ''Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania'', Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, P22. Bensalem Township has no incorporated municipalities (city or borough) within its boundaries. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population of 62,707, which made it the most populous municipality in Bucks County and the tenth most populated municipality in Pennsylvania. The township, which was founded in 1692, is almost as old as Pennsylvania itself, which was founded in 1682.


Origins

The origin of the name Bensalem likely comes from references made by settler Joseph Growden, who named his estate ''Manor of Bensalem'' in honor of
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
and the Semitic term for peace, Salem.Bensalem Township
Bensalemtwp.org (1979-03-19). Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
It was originally named ''Salem''; the first syllable ''Ben'' was added in 1701. Another theory notes the shared name with the utopian island in
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
's
New Atlantis ''New Atlantis'' is an incomplete utopian novel by Sir Francis Bacon, published posthumously in 1626. It appeared unheralded and tucked into the back of a longer work of natural history, ''Sylva Sylvarum'' (forest of materials). In ''New Atla ...
, also named Bensalem.


History

The area of Bensalem Township appeared on the Holme Map of 1682, though not yet with a name. By January 2, 1685, the boundary was fixed between Bensalem and
Philadelphia County Philadelphia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the most populous county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Philadelphia County had a population of 1,603,797. The county is the second smallest county in Pennsy ...
along the
Poquessing Creek Poquessing Creek is a creek,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 a right tributary of the Delaware River, that forms part of the boundary between Bucks County an ...
. At the September session in 1692 of the Court of Bucks County, a jury of thirteen men was formed to define boundaries of divisions that had been created up to that time. The report submitted in December states that "All the lands between Neshamineh and Poquessin, and so to the upper side of Joseph Growden's land in one and to be called 'Salem.'" It thus appears that the first name of the township was 'Salem'. The minutes of the Board of Property of the Province on 19 November 1701 at Philadelphia noted the name of the area as 'Bensalem'. The population of the area was first a few Dutch and Swedes, then later a larger influx of English, and then additional Dutch settled the area.


Geography

Bensalem is the southernmost township in Bucks County and is bordered by the
Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, dependi ...
section of the city of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
to the west and south,
Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensive ...
and the rest of Bristol Township to the east and northeast, the borough of Hulmeville and Middletown Township to the north, and Feasterville, Trevose, and Oakford in Lower Southampton Township to the northwest. Across the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before em ...
in Burlington County,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
to the southeast, there are the city of Beverly, Delanco Township, and Edgewater Park Township. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (4.77%) is water. The
Fall Line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is typically prominent where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the coas ...
, which separates the
Atlantic Coastal Plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
region from the
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
region, passes through Bensalem, and is visible around the Neshaminy Mall area. The
Neshaminy Creek Neshaminy Creek is a United States Geological Survey. National Hydrography DatasetThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 stream that runs entirely through Bucks County, Pennsylvania, rising south of the borough of Chalfont, where its north a ...
forms the natural eastern boundary and
Poquessing Creek Poquessing Creek is a creek,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 a right tributary of the Delaware River, that forms part of the boundary between Bucks County an ...
forms the natural western boundary of the township. Natural features include Barnsleys Ford, Mill Creek, Neshaminy Creek, Neshaminy Falls, Partridge Point, Poquessing Creek, and White Sheet Bay.


Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the township was 72.1% Non-Hispanic White, 7.3% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 10.2% Asian, and 2.6% of the population were of two or more races. 8.4% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. As of the census of 2000, there were 58,434 people, 22,627 households, and 15,114 families residing in the township. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPop ...
was 2,926.7 people per square mile (1,129.8/km). There were 23,535 housing units at an average density of 1,178.8/sq mi (455.0/km). There were 22,627 households, of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.14. In the township the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.0 males. For every 100 women age 18 and over, there were 96.9 men. The median income for a household in the township was $49,737, and the median income for a family was $58,771. Men had a median income of $39,914 versus $30,926 for women. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the township was $22,517. 7.4% of the population and 6.0% of families were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
. Of the total population, 6.8% of those under the age of 18 and 10.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.


Jewish community

Bensalem has a significant
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
community, with the following institutions. * The Bensalem Jewish Outreach Center, an
Orthodox Judaism outreach Orthodox Jewish outreach, often referred to as ''Kiruv'' or ''Qiruv'' ( he, קירוב "bringing close"), is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-observant Jews to encourage belief in God and life accord ...
institution with associated synagogue Kehillas B'nai Shalom. * Congregation Tifereth Israel, a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...
synagogue.


Landmarks and attractions

Bensalem is home to
Parx Casino and Racing Parx Casino and Racing (formerly Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Casino) is a thoroughbred horse racing venue and the largest casino gaming complex in Pennsylvania. Parx is located in Bensalem Township in Bucks County, northeast of the city of P ...
, a thoroughbred horse racing track and casino. This facility opened in November 1974 as Keystone Racetrack. The name was changed to Philadelphia Park in 1984. The track became notable as the original home of 2004
Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year- ...
and
Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...
champion Smarty Jones, who placed second in the
Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed The ...
, narrowly missing the
Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tr ...
. In 2006, a slots parlor casino opened at Philadelphia Park and the facility was renamed to Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Casino. A permanent standalone casino structure opened in December 2009 and was renamed Parx Casino. The facility boasts including gaming, dining, entertainment, and banquet space. Parx Casino contains the Xcite Center, which hosts concerts, entertainment performances, comedy acts, and boxing and MMA matches. Penn Community Bank Amphitheater is located in Bensalem, and is a popular venue for concerts. Bensalem is also home to the Mongkoltepmunee Buddhist Temple, or Wat Mongkoltepmunee, on Knights Road. This shrine is an exact replica of a temple in Bangkok and is the only one of its kind in the United States. It serves as a place of high ceremonies and meditation for a community of Buddhist monks who came to Bensalem from Thailand in the 1980s. For the 2002
M. Night Shyamalan Manoj Nelliyattu M. Night Shyamalan ( ; born August 6, 1970) is an Indian-American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for making original films with contemporary supernatural plots and twist endings. He was born in Mahé, India, and raise ...
movie Signs, starring
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...
, a stage set was built inside a warehouse on State Road for many of the interior shots. The
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...
for
Outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...
, starring
Jimmy Smits Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama '' L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama ''NYPD Blue'', Matt Santos ...
filmed scenes in Andalusia March 22–23, 2010

The movie Safe (2012 film), Safe, starring
Jason Statham Jason Statham (; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor. He is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, hardboiled, gritty, or violent. Statham began practising Chinese martial arts, kickboxing ...
filmed a scene at Parx Casino and Racing. The Neshaminy Mall is located within Bensalem. It was one of the first malls to be constructed in the country in 1968. It has two main anchors ( Boscov's and
AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. ( d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fo ...
) and over 120 smaller shops and eateries. The AMC Neshaminy 24 Theater is the largest and highest sales-producing theater in Pennsylvania. In addition, it has on many occasions been a top 10 for theater engagements in the United States (including the opening of Signs where it was #1)

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading intel ...
would often travel to Bensalem to visit his friend,
Joseph Galloway Joseph Galloway (1731August 29, 1803) was an American attorney and a leading political figure in the events immediately preceding the founding of the United States in the late 1700s. As a staunch opponent of American independence, he would bec ...
, at Growden Mansion. At the time, the Galloway family owned all of present-day Bensalem Township. A local legend maintains that Franklin performed his famous kite-flying experiment in Bensalem, at the mansion, to prove that lightning was the same as static electricity. (The broader consensus is that Benjamin Franklin flew his kite closer to his home in Philadelphia.) Bensalem is home to the Philadelphia Gun Club which hosts one of the few trap
pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
shoots in the United States. Live birds are released from boxes called traps and then shot by club members. Many birds are not killed outright and are collected to be killed by hand.
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...
and Belmont are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
. Andalusia is also designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. The U.S. subsidiary of Hoshino, which manufactures
Tama Drums Tama Drums, (from Japanese: (Kanji), (Kana), read as ) is a brand of drum kits and hardware manufactured and marketed by the Japanese musical instrument company, Hoshino Gakki. Tama's research and development of products, along with product ...
and
Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, a ...
guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
, is located here. Bensalem is home to Neshaminy State Park. Also, in the center of Bensalem is the Bensalem Township Community Park, which features a skatepark, playground, basketball courts, a roller-hockey rink, as well as baseball, football, soccer, and softball fields.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Bensalem Township is readily accessible with
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canad ...
,
Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's we ...
(Interstate 276),
U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making ...
,
U.S. Route 13 U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 (I-95) just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to US 1 in the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville. ...
(Bristol Pike), Pennsylvania Route 63 (Woodhaven Road),
Pennsylvania Route 132 Pennsylvania Route 132 (PA 132) is a state highway in southeast Pennsylvania. The route, which is signed east-west, runs northwest to southeast through Bucks County in suburban Philadelphia from PA 611 in Warrington southeast t ...
(Street Road), and Pennsylvania Route 513 (Hulmeville Road) all passing through. The Bensalem (formerly Philadelphia) Interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (exit 351, at U.S. Route 1) is in the Trevose section of the township. In addition, the eastbound Street Road interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (exit 352), which is
E-ZPass E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the Eastern United States, Midwestern United States, and Southern United States. The E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) consists of member agenci ...
only, serves Bensalem. The eastern terminus of the ticket system along the turnpike is located at the Neshaminy Falls toll plaza, east of the Street Road interchange. The intersection of Knights and Street roads in Bensalem Township was ranked by ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' magazine as the most dangerous intersection in the United States from 2003 until 2012. Two
SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelp ...
lines serve Bensalem Township, providing service to
Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wit ...
. The
West Trenton Line The West Trenton Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia to the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey. With around 12,000 riders every weekday, it is the third busiest line in the SEPTA Regional ...
stops at the Trevose and Neshaminy Falls stations in the northern part of the township. The Trenton Line stops at the Cornwells Heights and Eddington stations in the southern part of the township. The Cornwells Heights station is also served by
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
's ''
Keystone Service Amtrak's ''Keystone Service'' provides frequent regional passenger train service between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the Philadelphia to Harrisburg M ...
'' and ''
Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busie ...
'' services along the
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...
and has a
park-and-ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system (ra ...
with access from Interstate 95 and Pennsylvania Route 63.
CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
's Trenton Subdivision freight railroad line runs through the northern portion of the township. Multiple
SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five cou ...
bus routes pass through the township, serving points of interest within the township and providing connections to Philadelphia and other suburbs. Bus routes serving Bensalem Township include SEPTA City Bus Routes , and and SEPTA Suburban Bus Routes , and . SEPTA also operates the Boulevard Direct, a limited-stop bus route between the Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem Township and the
Frankford Transportation Center Frankford Transportation Center (also known as Frankford Terminal and Bridge-Pratt station) is a transportation terminal in Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was once known as the Bridge Street terminal before a complete re ...
in
Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, dependi ...
that follows Roosevelt Boulevard through Northeast Philadelphia. The
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before em ...
passes along the southeastern border of Bensalem Township and provides access for shipping. The Northeast Philadelphia Airport, located a couple miles away, provides general aviation services. The
Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The airport served 19.6 million passengers annually in 2021, making it the 21st busiest airport in the United States. The airport is located from t ...
is away, offering flights to domestic and international destinations.


Utilities

Electricity and natural gas in Bensalem Township is provided by
PECO Energy Company PECO, formerly the Philadelphia Electric Company, is an energy company founded in 1881 and incorporated in 1929. It became part of Exelon Corporation in 2000 when it merged with Commonwealth Edison's holding company Unicom Corp. The company has ...
, a subsidiary of
Exelon Exelon Corporation is an American Fortune 100 energy company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and incorporated in Pennsylvania. It generates revenues of approximately $33.5 billion and employs approximately 33,400 people. Exelon is the large ...
. Water in the township is provided by Aqua Pennsylvania, a subsidiary of
Aqua America Essential Utilities (formerly Aqua America and Peoples Natural Gas) is an American utility company that has stakes in Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia The company provides drinking water and wa ...
, while sewer service is provided by the Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority; Bensalem sold off its water and sewer system in 1999. Trash and recycling collection is provided by private haulers. Cable, telephone, and internet service to the area is provided by
Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications company and division of Comcast Corporation used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the co ...
and
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...
. Bensalem Township is served by
area codes 215, 267, and 445 Area codes 215, 267, and 445 are the North American telephone area codes for the City of Philadelphia as well as adjacent portions of Bucks and Montgomery counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The original area code is 215, which was e ...
.


Government

In 1987, the people of Bensalem voted to become a second-class township with a mayor-council form of government consisting of a five-member council and a mayor. The mayor is allowed to serve unlimited terms. The first mayor of Bensalem was Ed Burns, who was elected on 1989 and served in office from 1990 to 1994. The current mayor is Republican Joseph DiGirolamo, who is in his seventh consecutive term. He was elected mayor in 1994. His seventh term expires December 31, 2021.


Education

Public schools in Bensalem are operated by the Bensalem Township School District. The school district consists of six elementary schools, two middle schools, and Bensalem High School. The township has its own nine-member school board. Holy Ghost Preparatory School is a private Catholic high school located in the township. Founded in 1969, Roman Catholic Saint Ephrem School serving Grades Pre-K to 8 has students from Bensalem and the surrounding area. Established 1920, and located in the Cornwells Heights section of Bensalem, St. Charles Borromeo School is a Catholic, MSA Accredited, modernized Elementary School serving Grades Pre-K to 8. The
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well ...
announced in 2011 that Our Lady of Fatima School was closing as the number of students had declined.


Economy

Rita's Franchise Company, LLC has its headquarters in the Trevose section of the township, as well as its first location in the Andalusia sectio

Philly Pretzel Factory has its headquarters in Bensale

Fortune 1000 company Healthcare Services Group has its headquarters in Bensalem and is ranked #985 on the 2019 lis

Former Fortune 1000 company Charming Shoppes had its headquarters in Bensalem, and was ranked #927 on the 2012 list. The US Headquarters for Ibanez Guitars and
Tama Drums Tama Drums, (from Japanese: (Kanji), (Kana), read as ) is a brand of drum kits and hardware manufactured and marketed by the Japanese musical instrument company, Hoshino Gakki. Tama's research and development of products, along with product ...
is located in Bensalem Township. Suez Water Technologies & Solutions is a water treatment company based in the Trevose section of Bensalem Township.http://www.gewater.com/about-us.html Retrieved on 2013-12-31.


Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Bensalem Township has a
Humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(''Cfa''). ''Cfa'' climates are characterized by all months having an average mean temperature > , at least four months with an average mean temperature ≥ , at least one month with an average mean temperature ≥ and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days are slightly humid in Bensalem Township, episodes of heat and high humidity can occur with
heat index The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is al ...
values > . Since 1981, the highest air temperature was on July 22, 2011, and the highest daily average mean dew point was on August 13, 1999. The average wettest month is July which corresponds with the annual peak in
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
activity. Since 1981, the wettest calendar day was on August 27, 2011. During the winter months, the average annual extreme minimum air temperature is . Since 1981, the coldest air temperature was on January 22, 1984. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with
wind chill Wind chill or windchill (popularly wind chill factor) is the lowering of body temperature due to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air. Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When ...
values < . The average annual snowfall (Nov-Apr) is between and .
Ice storm An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on ex ...
s and large snowstorms depositing ≥ occur once every few years, particularly during nor’easters from December through February.


Ecology

According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S.
potential natural vegetation In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard eve ...
types, Bensalem Township would have a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian
Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ...
(''104'') with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern
Hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
Forest (''25''). The
plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 7a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of . The spring bloom typically begins by April 7 and fall color usually peaks by November 5.


See also

* Cheltenham Township *
Haverford Township Haverford Township is a home rule municipality township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.Lower Merion Township *
Upper Darby Township Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The township borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city as of 2020 with 1.6 million residents. As of the 2020 cen ...
* Bensalem Township Police Department


References


External links


Bensalem Township Home Page
{{authority control 1692 establishments in Pennsylvania Townships in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania populated places on the Delaware River Populated places established in 1692