Parks Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Armstrong County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The population was 2,471 at the 2020 census, a decrease from 2,744 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Parks Township is located in southern Armstrong County; the

Kiskiminetas River The Kiskiminetas River (commonly referred to as the Kiski by locals) is a tributary of the Allegheny River, approximately long, in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. The region stretching from the northern side of Harmar Township, Penn ...

forms the township's southern boundary with Westmoreland County. Carnahan Run flows through Parks Township. The township includes the unincorporated communities of North Vandergrift, Kepple Hill, Pleasant View, River View, and Kiskimere, all in the Kiskiminetas River valley. Farther inland is the community of Dime. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.16%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 2,754 people, 1,108 households, and 794 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,186 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 95.21% White, 3.23% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.91% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population. There were 1,108 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.92. The township median age of 41 years was slightly more than the county median age of 40 years. The distribution by age group was 22.4% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $29,915, and the median income for a family was $37,827. Males had a median income of $33,250 versus $20,461 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $13,818. About 12.6% of families and 15.1% of the population 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 ...

, including 19.9% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Environmental cleanup

The Shallow Land Disposal Area site (part of NUMEC) was under cleanup by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

as of 2010.

History

Parks Township was originally merged with the neighboring townships of Bethel and Gilpin, known as Allegheny Township. In 1878, finding it was too large to manage and supervise, the three split and Parks Township was incorporated.

Cemeteries

*Highfield Lutheran Church Cemetery *Keppel Burial Ground *Laurel Point Cemetery *Parks Family Cemetery *Porter Cemetery

References

{{Coord, 40, 36, 54, N, 79, 34, 45, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Populated places established in 1814 Townships in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania