Cheltenham Township is a township bordering Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 36,875 at the 2000 census.[2]
History
Cheltenham was established in 1682 by 15 Quakers from Cheltenham, England, including Richard Wall and Tobias Leech, who purchased 4,070 acres (16.5 km2) of land from William Penn.[1][2]
The La Mott section of the township was the site of Camp William Penn, the training grounds of the first African-American troops ever enlisted into the United States Army during the American Civil War. These soldiers were at General Lee's surrender, helped hunt down John Wilkes Booth and were the only African-American soldiers to carry President Lincoln's casket.[citation needed]
The USCT (United States Colored Troops) 3rd Regiment were the first to be trained at Camp William Penn. It is tradition that soldiers have a grand parade before leaving for war, but Philadelphia was partially a racist community at that time[citation needed] and the government believed that a parade might cause a riot, so it was cancelled. The leader of the Camp (Colonel Louis Wagner) was furious and made sure the next regiment to come through would have a parade.
Cheltenham became a township of the first class in 1900.
Geography
Cheltenham is a residential township in Montgomery County, southeastern Pennsylvania. It borders Philadelphia and is 16 km (10 mi) northeast of the city's center. It also borders Abington Township on the north side and Springfield Township on the west side.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 9.0 square miles (23.4 km²). The area consists of rolling hills and also has a few streams running through it, most notably the Tookany Creek. It includes the census-designated places of Cheltenham, Elkins Park, Wyncote, Glenside, Melrose Park, La Mott and Laverock.
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1930 |
15,731 |
|
—
|
| 1940 |
19,082 |
|
21.3% |
| 1950 |
22,854 |
|
19.8% |
| 1960 |
35,990 |
|
57.5% |
| 1970 |
40,066 |
|
11.3% |
| 1980 |
35,509 |
|
−11.4% |
| 1990 |
34,923 |
|
−1.7% |
| 2000 |
36,875 |
|
5.6% |
| www.dvrpc.org/data/databull/rdb/db82/appedixa.xls.</ref> |
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 36,875 people, 14,346 households, and 9,640 families residing in the township. The population density was 4,083.1 people per square mile (1,576.7/km²). There were 14,897 housing units at an average density of 1,649.5/sq mi (637.0/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 66.45% White, 24.61% African American, 0.12% Native American, 6.44% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.79% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.99% of the population.
30.4% of the townships households have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% are headed by married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% 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 3.05.
In the township the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.0 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $61,713, and the median income for a family was $76,792. Males had a median income of $50,564 versus $36,439 for females. The per capita income for the township was $31,424. About 3.0% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.
Politics and government
Cheltenham Township does not have a mayor. Rather it is governed by a Board of Commissioners, who are elected one from each of the township's seven wards. A President of the Board is rotated between these commissioners, and serves as the head of government. Paul Greenwald is the current Board President. A school board, led by Tina Viletto, is in charge of the school district.
The township is in the Second Congressional District (represented by Rep. Chaka Fattah), and Pennsylvania's 154th Representative District (represented by Rep. Lawrence Curry). Prior to the 2000 census, it was in the 13th congressional district with the rest of Montgomery County. It is also in Pennsylvania's 4th Senatorial District
Education
The Cheltenham Township School District serves the township. There are seven public schools and a number of private schools. Public schools include Cheltenham Elementary School (k-4), Myers Elementary School (k-4), Glenside Elementary School (k-4), Wyncote Elementary School (k-4), Elkins Park School (5-6), Cedarbrook Middle School (7-8), and Cheltenham High School (9-12).[3]
The largest private high school in Cheltenham Township is Bishop McDevitt High School (9-12) which is under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The section of Elkins Park in Cheltenham is the former home of Tyler School of Art, a visual arts school that is part of Temple University. Cheltenham is also home to Arcadia University (formerly known as Beaver College), Salus University (formerly known as The Pennsylvania College of Optometry), Westminster Theological Seminary, Gratz College and Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism.
Libraries
Cheltenham Township has four libraries which are the East Cheltenham Free Library, Elkins Park Free Library, La Mott Free Library, and the Glenside Free library.
Transportation
The train stations in Cheltenham Township are:
Cheltenham Train Station - Cheltenham, PA
Elkins Park Train Station - Elkins Park, PA
Melrose Park Train Station - Melrose Park, PA
Wyncote-Jenkintown - Wyncote, PA and Jenkintown, PA Border
Glenside Train Station - Glenside, PA
Three SEPTA Regional Rail line stations are located wholly within the township. The stations carry the names of the neighborhoods in which they are located: Elkins Park; Glenside; and Melrose Park. Two additional stations, (Jenkintown-Wyncote and Cheltenham), straddle the township's border.
Beginning on January 31, 2005, Cheltenham Township partnered with Abington Township to launch a shared transit service. The Cheltenham Transit Service will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays according to the same route and timetable as the current schedule. A new bus will be used for the service since Laidlaw Transit Service will be the new contractor. All other policies and procedures will remain the same. The bus runs in Abington Township on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
The addition of Saturday to the Cheltenham Transit Service schedule offers riders new flexibility in their weekend travels. Although the change will result in a net reduction in service, Township officials consider this option preferable to eliminating the transit bus altogether.
Major Roads in Cheltenham Township
Cheltenham Avenue is a major roadway and is an easy access point to many of the other roadways like Pennsylvania Route 611 and Pennsylvania Route 309. It is also the the Border between Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Cheltenham Avenue ends on the westside at Papermill Road in Laverock, Pennsylvania which is also part of the township.
Pennsylvania Route 73 known as 'Township line Road' is one of the major roadways in Cheltenham Township because it is the border line between Cheltenham and Abington Townships
Pennsylvania Route 309 starts in Cheltenham Township and serves as a major highway. It goes through many townships and ends up in PA 29 in Noxen Township
Pennsylvania Route 152 starts in Cheltenham Township and is known as 'Limekiln Pike' It ends on the North end of Pennsylvania Route 309 in Telford, PA
Pennsylvania Route 611 starts in Philadelphia Interstate 95 and runs through Cheltenham Township as Old York Road. It is the main access road to Willow Grove in Abington and Upper Moreland Townships
Famous current or former residents
Miscellaneous
- Cheltenham has its own public access cable TV channel, Channel 42 (Cheltenham School District Broadcasting) on Comcast Cablevision.
- Cheltenham is twinned with - and named after - Cheltenham, United Kingdom.
- The Fox sitcom "'Til Death" is set in Cheltenham.[citation needed]
- The movie "The In Crowd" was filmed partly at Cheltenham High School.[citation needed]
Points of interest
References
External links
