Williams Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania

History

The Bridge in Williams Township, Jacob Arndt House and Barn, Coffeetown Grist Mill, and Isaac Stout House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Another historic grist mill located in Williams Township is the Wottring Mill built in 1810 by William Wottring located on a road that is named in honor of William's mill on Wottrings Mill Road. Presently, it is an unregistered historic place that is privately owned.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Williams Township has a total area of 18.7 square miles (48.5 km²), of which, 18.4 square miles (47.6 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (1.76%) is water. It is drained by the Delaware River, which separates it on the east from New Jersey. Interstate 78 crosses east-to-west in the north and its Easton interchange is with Old Philadelphia Road/Morgan Hill Road in the township. Route 611 follows the river from Martins Creek via Easton to Kinternsville. It is connected to the 78 interchange by Cedarville Road. Other notable local roads are Durham Road, Hellertown-Raubsville Road, and Island Park Road. Its villages include Coffeetown, Raubsville, and Stouts.

Neighboring municipalities

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,470 people, 1,657 households, and 1,267 families residing in the township. The population density was 243.0 people per square mile (93.8/km²). There were 1,738 housing units at an average density of 94.5/sq mi (36.5/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.25% White, 0.81% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.05% of the population.

There were 1,657 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.6% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the township the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $56,196, and the median income for a family was $66,488. Males had a median income of $44,545 versus $29,358 for females. The per capita income for the township was $27,249. About 1.7% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

Public education

The Township is served by the Wilson Area School District.

Proposed baseball stadium

The Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds were a proposed Atlantic League Independent baseball team who were originally slated to play at the Lehigh Valley Multi-Purpose Sport Complex, a 6,400-seat, $15 million-dollar ballpark in Williams Township. Construction was halted by developer Jim Petrucci when the team owner, Thomas Flaherty, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 1, 2000, with some $3 million in debts. Bankruptcy records showed 128 people submitted claims for $52,683 in season ticket sales.

The Lehigh Valley Multi-Purpose Sport Complex was demolished in early 2005, without ever hosting a single baseball game.