Editing Patton Township, Pennsylvania

{{short description|Township in Pennsylvania, US}}
{{distinguish|Patton, Pennsylvania}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Patton Township,<br />Pennsylvania
| other_name         = 
| native_name        = 
| nickname           = 
| settlement_type    = Township
| motto              = 
| image_skyline      = Frost museum pond with goose.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = Ten acre Pond
| image_flag         = 
| flag_size          = 
| image_seal         = 
| seal_size          = 
| image_shield       = Coat of arms of Patton Township, Pennsylvania.png
| shield_size        = 
| city_logo          = 
| citylogo_size      = 
| image_map          = Map of Patton Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania Highlighted.png
| mapsize            = 250px
| map_caption        = Map of Centre County, Pennsylvania highlighting Patton Township
| image_map1         = Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Centre County.svg
| mapsize1           = 250px
| map_caption1       = Map of Centre County, Pennsylvania
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Pennsylvania]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Pennsylvania|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Centre County, Pennsylvania|Centre]]
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = 
| subdivision_type4  = 
| subdivision_name4  = 
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = Board of Supervisors
| leader_title       = Chair
| leader_name        = Pamela Robb<ref name="twp.patton.pa.us">https://twp.patton.pa.us/173/Board-of-Supervisors</ref>
| leader_title1      = Vice Chair
| leader_name1       = Sultan Magruder<ref name="twp.patton.pa.us">https://twp.patton.pa.us/173/Board-of-Supervisors</ref>
| leader_title2      = Supervisors
| leader_name2       = Elliot Abrams<ref name="twp.patton.pa.us">https://twp.patton.pa.us/173/Board-of-Supervisors</ref>
| leader_title3      = Supervisors
| leader_name3       = Betsy Whitman<ref name="twp.patton.pa.us">https://twp.patton.pa.us/173/Board-of-Supervisors</ref>
| leader_title4      = Supervisors
| leader_name4       = Susan Chyczewski<ref name="twp.patton.pa.us">https://twp.patton.pa.us/173/Board-of-Supervisors</ref>
| established_title  = Settled
| established_date   = 1788
| established_title1 = Incorporated
| established_date1  = 1794
| area_magnitude     = 
| 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     = 63.58
| area_land_km2      = 63.54
| area_water_km2     = 0.05
| area_total_sq_mi   = 24.55
| area_land_sq_mi    = 24.53
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.02
| area_water_percent = 
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = <ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021">{{cite web |title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020—2021 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html |website=Census.gov |publisher=US Census Bureau |access-date=August 13, 2022}}</ref>
| population_note    = 
| population_total   = 15801 {{increase}}
| population_density_km2 = 251.64
| population_density_sq_mi = 651.75
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_ft       = 
| postal_code_type   = [[Zip code]]
| postal_code        = 16803
| area_code          = [[Area code 814|814]]
| website            = {{URL|twp.patton.pa.us}}
| footnotes          = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 2021
| pop_est_footnotes  = <ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/>
| population_est     = 15766
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 42-027-58440
}}

{{US Census population
|1850= 453
|1860= 664
|1870= 721
|1880= 761
|1890= 1045
|1900= 924
|1910= 907
|1920= 498
|1930= 442
|1940= 790
|1950= 1289
|1960= 2401
|1970= 4394
|1980= 7409
|1990= 9971
|2000= 11420
|2010= 15311
|2020= 15801
|footnote=<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/>
}}

'''Patton Township''' is a township in [[Centre County, Pennsylvania|Centre County]], [[Pennsylvania]], United States. It is part of the [[Happy Valley, Pennsylvania|Happy Valley]] and the larger [[Nittany Valley]].

Patton Township is served by the Patton Township Police Department, [[Alpha Fire Company]], and Centre LifeLink EMS.  Alpha Fire Company maintains one of its two substations in Patton Township.

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the township has a total area of {{convert|63.58|sqkm|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|63.54|sqkm|disp=flip}} is land and {{convert|0.05|sqkm|disp=flip}}, or 0.07%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/0600000US4202758440| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Patton township, Centre County, Pennsylvania| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=April 10, 2015| archive-url=https://archive.today/20150410135214/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/0600000US4202758440| archive-date=April 10, 2015| url-status=dead}}</ref>

Patton Township is bordered by [[Huston Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania|Huston Township]] to the northwest, [[Benner Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania|Benner Township]] to the northeast, [[College Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania|College Township]] to the southeast, [[Ferguson Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania|Ferguson Township]] to the south, and [[Halfmoon Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania|Halfmoon Township]] to the southwest.

===Neighborhoods===
*[[Fillmore, Pennsylvania|Fillmore]]
*[[Graysdale, Pennsylvania|Grays Woods]]
*[[Park Forest Village, Pennsylvania|Park Forest]] (census-designated place)
*[[Scotia, Pennsylvania|Scotia]]
*[[Skytop, Centre County, Pennsylvania|Skytop]]
*[[Toftrees, Pennsylvania|Toftrees]] (census-designated place)
*[[Waddle, Pennsylvania|Waddle]]
*[[Woodycrest, Pennsylvania|Woodycrest]]

==History==
Patton Township was established in 1794 and named after Colonel John Patton, a revolutionary officer, who co-owned the [[Centre Furnace Mansion House|Centre Furnace]], along with Colonel Samuel Miles. The Peter Gray family and the Conrad Hartsock family were the earliest settlers to the area.  They came to the Half Moon Valley in 1788, from [[Frederick County, Maryland]], and settled in what is now Patton Township.  The early days were strongly influenced by [[Methodism]].  As soon as Peter Gray had a roof on his log cabin, he began Sunday School classes, and founded what is today Grays United Methodist Church. These settlers also made pilgrimages to church at [[Warriors Mark Township, Pennsylvania|Warriors Mark]], a 12-mile distance, because that was the nearest regular preaching point in the valley.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.graysumc.org/history.html|title=History|work=Grays United Methodist Church, Port Matilda, PA}}</ref>

Iron mining had begun in the early days of Patton Township, affording supply of ore for Centre Furnace. [[Scotia, Pennsylvania|Scotia]], a [[company town]] established by [[Andrew Carnegie]], was one of the largest mining operations in the area. Scotia's population peaked at 400 in the 1890s before the mines closed in 1911. Lumber was sourced from the [[Scotia Barrens]] for a sawmill in [[Waddle, Pennsylvania|Waddle]] from 1910 until 1915.<ref name="wl">{{Cite web |url= https://centrehistory.org/article/scotia/|title= Scotia|last= Hazelton|first= Bob|date= July 5, 2024|website= centrehistory.org|publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref>

In 1927 [[Woodycrest, Pennsylvania|Woodycrest]] would begin as an unplanned community out of W.A. Strouse's 65-acre farm. Strouse sold plots of land for $20 to $50 each. At the time the main road from Woodycrest to State College was a dirt road that meandered from [[State College#College Heights|College Heights]] to Waddle.<ref name="ath">{{Cite web|date= November 6, 2024|publisher= StateCollege.com|title= Penn State Diary|url= https://www.statecollege.com/articles/spot-8/penn-state-diary-names-of-places-in-centre-county-have-lessons-to-teach/}}</ref> In 1930 Patton Township recorded its lowest population (442) prior to the construction of [[U.S. Route 322 Business (State College, Pennsylvania)|North Atherton Street]] and Skytop Mountain Road from [[State College#Downtown|Downtown]] State College to [[Martha Furnace, Pennsylvania|Martha's Furnace]] in 1932. In the same year, Lytle's addition, an affordable working class community, was annexed by Borough of State College from College Township.<ref>{{Cite web|date= February 1999|publisher= State College|title= Borough of State College Neighborhood Plan|url= https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/e9aabf35-da1e-44dd-a236-576e5c4ba203?cache=1800}}</ref> As prices in Lytle's addition rose, residents moved into Woodycrest.<ref name="ath" />

In 1956 construction began in [[Park Forest Village, Pennsylvania|Park Forest]], a [[planned community]] split between Ferguson and Patton Townships that would grow to become the most populous census-designated place in Centre County.<ref name="uj" /> In 1967 Park Forest Elementary School was built and Park Forest Middle School followed in 1971 in Park Forest's North End.<ref name="smab">{{Cite web|publisher= State College Area School District|title= Timeline: 1896 the present|url= https://www.scasd.org/our-district/about-the-district/history/timeline}}</ref> In 1968 construction began in [[Toftrees, Pennsylvania|Toftrees]], a [[Medium-density housing|medium-density]] planned community north of Woodycrest. In 1990 construction began in Gray’s Woods, a planned community near the ghost town Scotia.<ref name="uj">{{Cite web|publisher= Patton Township|url= https://a9b1d3c119c80baabb72-47546d88ceba6aa6de4b0270186f86a0.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/2/0e13190667_1634835371_2021-patton-township-housing-task-force-report--optimized.pdf|title= Patton Township Housing Task Force Report}}</ref> Gray's Woods Elementary School would be built in 2002.<ref name="smab" />

<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
File:Grays United Methodist Church PA 550 Centre Co.jpg|Grays United Methodist Church
</gallery>

==Demographics==
As of a 2015 census estimate, the township was 77.3% Non-Hispanic White, 9.3% Black or African American, 1.5% Native American Alaska Native, 9.7% Asian, 1.3% Some other race, and 3.8% were Two or More Races. Hispanics and Latinos (of any race) were 3.6% of the population. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130611010502/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html]

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> of 2000, there were 11,420 people, 4,791 households, and 2,472 families residing in the township.  The population density was {{convert|460.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 4,974 housing units at an average density of {{convert|200.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the township was 89.24% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 3.55% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.13% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 4.48% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.06% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.81% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.73% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 2.16% of the population.

There were 4,791 households, out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.4% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the township the population was spread out, with 19.1% under the age of 18, 24.5% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 106.2 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.7 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $41,993, and the median income for a family was $61,503. Males had a median income of $41,064 versus $27,284 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the township was $22,860.  About 3.9% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over.

<gallery mode=packed heights=300>
Scotia, Patton TWP, Centre County, PA.jpg|Ten Acre Pond near Scotia
</gallery>

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://twp.patton.pa.us/ Patton Township official website]
*[https://archive.today/20130629033745/http://www.excitingnature.com/category/patton-township/ Parks in Patton Township]

{{State College, Pennsylvania}}
{{Centre County, Pennsylvania}}

{{coord|40|50|00|N|77|54|59|W|type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki|display=title}}

[[Category:Populated places established in 1788]]
[[Category:Townships in Centre County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:1788 establishments in Pennsylvania]]