Editing Lower Oxford Township, Pennsylvania

{{short description|Township in Pennsylvania, US}}
{{Distinguish|Oxford Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania|Upper Oxford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Lower Oxford Township
| official_name = 
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| settlement_type = [[Township (Pennsylvania)|Township]]
| image_skyline = Hopewell House PA.jpg
| imagesize = 250px
| image_alt = 
| image_caption = [[Hopewell Historic District]]
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| image_map = Chester County Pennsylvania incorporated and unincorporated areas Lower Oxford highlighted.svg
| mapsize = 260px
| map_alt = 
| map_caption = Location of Lower Oxford Township in [[Chester County, Pennsylvania]] (top) and of Chester County in [[Pennsylvania]] (below)
| image_map1 = Pennsylvania in United States (US48).svg
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| map_caption1 = Location of [[Pennsylvania]] in the United States
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| coordinates = {{coord|39|48|27|N|75|58|16|W|display=inline,title}}
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| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = United States
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = Pennsylvania
| subdivision_type2 = County
| subdivision_name2 = [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester]]
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| established_title = Founded
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| leader_title = Mayor
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| unit_pref = Imperial
| area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2016">{{cite web|title=2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2016_Gazetteer/2016_gaz_place_42.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=Aug 13, 2017}}</ref>
| area_total_km2 = 47.59
| area_total_sq_mi = 18.37
| area_land_km2 = 46.60
| area_land_sq_mi = 17.99
| area_water_km2 = 0.99
| area_water_sq_mi = 0.38
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| elevation_ft = 525
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| population_as_of = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = <ref name="QF2020"/>
| population_total = 5420
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| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_sq_mi = auto
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| timezone1 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
| utc_offset1 = -5
| timezone1_DST = [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]]
| utc_offset1_DST = -4
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| area_code = [[Area codes 610, 484, and 835|610]]
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| blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info = 42-029-45040
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| blank2_name_sec2 = Wikimedia Commons
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| website = {{URL|http://www.loweroxfordtownship.com}}
| footnotes = 
}}

'''Lower Oxford Township''' is a [[Township (Pennsylvania)|township]] in [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester County]], [[Pennsylvania]], United States. The population was 5,420 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="QF2020"/> [[Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)|Lincoln University]], a [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black university]], is located in the township.

==History==
The [[Hopewell Historic District]] and [[Pine Grove Covered Bridge]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>  The township is named after [[Oxford]], England.<ref name="loweroxfordtownship.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.loweroxfordtownship.com/Township%20HISTORY%20for%20website%20pdf%20(2).pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-07-01 |archive-date=2016-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328022819/http://www.loweroxfordtownship.com/Township%20HISTORY%20for%20website%20pdf%20(2).pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The township was also acted as an early genesis point and catalyst for large Irish and especially Scotch-Irish settlement and expansion into Chester County and points west in Pennsylvania.<ref name="Johnston2009">{{cite book|author=George Johnston|title=History of Cecil County, Maryland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCuu565vrmAC&pg=PA135|date=1 June 2009|publisher=Genealogical Publishing Com|isbn=978-0-8063-7988-3|pages=135–}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Pennsylvania: Scotch-Irish Centre|url = http://www.libraryireland.com/ScotchIrishAmerica/IX.php|website = www.libraryireland.com|access-date = 2016-02-12}}</ref><ref name="Ford1915">{{cite book|author=Henry Jones Ford|title=The Scotch-Irish in America|url=https://archive.org/details/irishinamer00fordrich|year=1915|publisher=Princeton University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/irishinamer00fordrich/page/263 263]–}}</ref>
Part of the township was originally disputed territory between Pennsylvania and Maryland, resolved eventually by the [[Mason–Dixon line]].  One third of the township formed part of the northern section of Susquehanna Manor later known as New Connaught, a large settlement tract established by Maryland and named after the western province of [[Connacht]] in Ireland that courted Irish settlement into the area.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCuu565vrmAC&q=new+connaught+lower+oxford+township&pg=PA116 |title = History of Cecil County, Maryland|isbn = 9780806379883|last1 = Johnston|first1 = George|year = 1998}}</ref>  The township was also originally part of neighboring Londonderry Township, named after [[Derry|Londonderry]], now in Northern Ireland, and settled by Irish (primarily Scotch-Irish) settlers entering Pennsylvania.<ref name="loweroxfordtownship.com"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.londonderrytownship.org/history.html |title=History of Londonderry Township |access-date=2010-07-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612032225/http://www.londonderrytownship.org/history.html |archive-date=2011-06-12 }}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the township has a total area of {{convert|18.5|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|18.2|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|0.3|sqmi}}, or 1.83%, is water.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1930= 1127
|1940= 1186
|1950= 1657
|1960= 2007
|1970= 2804
|1980= 2836
|1990= 3264
|2000= 4319
|2010= 5200
|2020= 5420
|footnote=<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dvrpc.org/data/databull/rdb/db82/appedixa.xls |title=DVRPC > Site Search |access-date=2014-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409042424/https://www.dvrpc.org/data/databull/rdb/db82/appedixa.xls |archive-date=2019-04-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 2020<ref name="QF2020">{{cite web |title=QuickFacts: Lower Oxford township, Chester County, Pennsylvania |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/loweroxfordtownshipchestercountypennsylvania/PST045219}}</ref>
}}

{{update|section|date=October 2021|reason=Newer information is available from the 2020 Census report}}

At the 2010 census, the township was 53.1% non-Hispanic White, 35.1% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 2.3% were two or more races. 10.6% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/profile/PA |title=Archived copy |website=[[USA Today]] |access-date=2017-09-04 |archive-date=2012-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215053518/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/profile/PA |url-status=dead }}</ref>

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=October 2021|reason=no substantiation of these stats found at the given URL}} of 2000, there were 4,319 people, 986 households, and 799 families residing in the township.  The population density was {{convert|237.2|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 1,018 housing units at an average density of {{convert|55.9|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the township was 61.31% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 34.50% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.05% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.25% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 2.92% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.97% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 6.53% of the population.

There were 986 households, out of which 41.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.9% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.9% were non-families. 15.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.37.

In the township the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 34.1% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 14.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $49,766, and the median income for a family was $51,809. Males had a median income of $39,205 versus $25,521 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the township was $15,475.  About 6.3% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

==Transportation==
{{stack|[[File:2022-09-15 10 23 54 View north along U.S. Route 1 (Kennett-Oxford Bypass) from the overpass for Pennsylvania State Route 10 (Limestone Road) in Lower Oxford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.jpg|right|thumb|US 1 northbound in Lower Oxford Township]]}}
As of 2022, there were {{convert|60.41|mi}} of public roads in Lower Oxford Township, of which {{convert|23.90|mi}} were maintained by the [[Pennsylvania Department of Transportation]] (PennDOT) and {{convert|36.51|mi}} were maintained by the township.<ref name=PennDOTmap>{{cite web|url=https://gis.penndot.gov/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/Type5/15224.pdf|title=Lower Oxford Township map|publisher=PennDOT|access-date=March 13, 2023}}</ref>

[[U.S. Route 1 in Pennsylvania|U.S. Route 1]] is the most prominent highway serving Lower Oxford Township. It follows the Kennett Oxford Bypass along a southwest-northeast alignment through the central and eastern portions of the township. [[Pennsylvania Route 10]] follows Limestone Road along a north-south alignment through the central portion of the township. [[Pennsylvania Route 472]] follows Lancaster Pike along a northwest-southeast alignment across the southwestern portion of the township.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.loweroxfordtownship.com Lower Oxford Township]

{{Chester County, Pennsylvania}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Townships in Chester County, Pennsylvania]]