Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania


Upper Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 28,395 at the 2010 U.S. Census. Located from Philadelphia, it consists of the villages of Gulph Mills, King of Prussia, Swedeland, Swedesburg, and portions of Radnor and Wayne.
The westernmost part of the township comprises the largest part of the Valley Forge National Historical Park. The township is the home of the King of Prussia mall. King of Prussia also contains a major office park hosting firms such as Lockheed Martin and GlaxoSmithKline.
The name Merion originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language translation of the Welsh Meirionnydd, itself named after Meirchion, grandson of Cunedda Wledig, King of North Wales.

History

The Township's incorporation dates to 1713 when the King of Prussia Inn, the Bird-In-Hand Inn in Gulph Mills, and later the Swedes Ford Inn were required to pay 6 shillings to the Pennsylvania legislature for licenses. The King of Prussia Inn, built in 1719, captures the historical flavor of the township. It was named in honor of Frederick the Great, but became known during the Revolutionary War as a center of food and drink. An alternate story says the Inn, first called Berry's Tavern, got its name to lure in Prussian mercenaries who spent freely.
Upper Merion Township is a township of the second class under Pennsylvania state statutes. A five-member Board of Supervisors, elected at large for staggered six-year terms, governs it. The Board passes legislation and sets overall policy for the Township. A professional township manager runs the day-to-day operations overseeing the activities of 250 full and part-time employees.
Hanging Rock and Poplar Lane are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 17.2 square miles, of which, 16.9 square miles of it is land and 0.4 square miles of it is water.
Upper Merion has a hot-summer humid continental climate and the hardiness zone is 7a. It is drained by the Schuylkill River which forms its natural northern and eastern boundary.

Notable sights

Upper Merion Township is home to Valley Forge National Historical Park, which consists of the site where General George Washington and the Continental Army made their encampment at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78 in the American Revolutionary War. King of Prussia, which is the largest mall in the United States in terms of leasable space with over 400 stores, is located in Upper Merion Township. Other points of interest in Upper Merion Township include the Valley Forge Casino Resort, the King of Prussia Town Center and the King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company 9/11 Memorial.

Old Swedes Church was dedicated June 25, 1760 in Swedesburg, replacing a simple log cabin dating to 1735. The original church had served as both a church and school until Christ Church was built. The stained glass windows tell the story of the history of the Swedish colony of New Sweden.
After crossing the Schuylkill River at Swedesford on December 13, 1777, General George Washington and his troops visited Old Swedes Church and encamped there before going on to Valley Forge.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the township was 76.0% White, 5.5% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 14.7% Asian, and 2.1% were two or more races. 3.9% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry .
As of the census of 2000, there were 26,863 people, 11,575 households, and 7,141 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,593.3 people per square mile. There were 12,151 housing units at an average density of 720.7/sq mi. The racial makeup of the township was 84.75% White, 4.63% African American, 0.13% Native American, 8.45% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.79% of the population.
There were 11,575 households, out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the township the population was spread out, with 18.7% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $65,636, and the median income for a family was $78,690. Males had a median income of $51,247 versus $38,166 for females. The per capita income for the township was $34,961. About 1.3% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.6% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Upper Merion Township is run by an elected five person Board of Supervisors, each of whom serve staggered six year terms. The current supervisors are Chairperson Bill Jenaway, Vice Chairperson Carole Kenney, Greg Waks, Greg Philips and Tina Garzillo. Other than Garzillo, who was appointed in June 2018 to finish the term of Erika Spott, there has not been a change in the composition of the Board of Supervisors since January 2012 and each of the current Supervisors was re-elected by a significantly greater margin than originally elected. The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson are elected every year in January by their fellow Supervisors.
The recent Chairs of the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors:
2020: Bill Jenaway;
2019: Greg Waks;
2018: Greg Philips;
2017: Bill Jenaway;
2016: Bill Jenaway;
2015: Greg Philips ; Erika Spott ;
2014: Greg Waks;
2013: Greg Waks;
2012: Erika Spott;
2011: Ed McBride ;
2010: Joe Bartlett ;
2009: Scott Sibley ;
2008: Scott Sibley
Municipal general election results from 2001–Present:
YearName and
Vote Total		Name and
Vote Total		Name and
Vote Total		Name and
Vote Total
2001Anthony "Chuck" Volpi
3294		Sal Sonsino
2138		N/AN/A
2003Barbara Frailey
2880		Scott Sibley
2693		Bill Wall, Jr.
2243		Ronald Hartley, Jr.
2184
2005Joseph Bartlett
2190		Edward McBride
2015		Kenneth Forman
1644		Sandy Moskowitz
1357
2007Erika Spott
2747		Anthony "Chuck" Volpi
2681		N/AN/A
2009Greg Waks
2537		William Jenaway
2424		Carole Kenney
2334		Scott Sibley
2291
2011Carole Kenney
3185		Greg Philips
3048		Edward McBride
2978		Scott Sibley
2930
2013Erika Spott
2564		Marianne Hooper
2272		N/AN/A
2015Greg Waks
3602		William Jenaway
3446		Dave Furman
2330		Bruce Fegan
2240
2017Carole Kenney
3485		Greg Philips
3450		Mark A. Volpi
2459		Joseph J. White, Jr.
2376
2019Tina Garzillo
4445		Mike Napolitan
2806		N/AN/A

All township business meetings are televised by Upper Merion Government Access Television
The Tax Collector is Rose Hykel.
The elected Board of Auditors are Rhonda Cohen, Steve Ciavarri and David Lipson.
The Supervisors hire a township manager to run the operations of the township. The township manager is Anthony Hamaday.
The township is part of the Fourth Congressional District, the 149th State House District and the 17th State Senate District.

Economy

Top employers

According to Upper Merion Township's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the township are:
#Employer# of EmployeesCommunity
1Lockheed Martin3,568King of Prussia
2GlaxoSmithKline2,732King of Prussia
3eBay Enterprise991King of Prussia
4Pershing853King of Prussia
5Upper Merion Area School District691King of Prussia
6United States Liability Insurance Group655Wayne
7Yellowbook648King of Prussia
8Shellville Services530King of Prussia
9Nordstrom486King of Prussia
10Broadview Networks469King of Prussia

Education

Public school students in Upper Merion Township attend schools in the Upper Merion Area School District.
Upper Merion Township also has a Private school, It formed in 2012 by the merger of Mother of Divine Providence in King of Prussia and St. Teresa of Avila in Norristown.
Armenian Sisters Academy, an Armenian school, is in Upper Merion Township, with a Radnor postal address.

Colleges and universities

The Penn State Great Valley campus was once located in the King of Prussia section of Upper Merion from 1963 to 1974 before relocating to Great Valley. In 1982, the college opened up a new facility called Penn State King of Prussia Center.