Catawissa Township, Pennsylvania

Catawissa Township, Pennsylvania
Township
Catawissa Mountain in Catawissa Township
Map of Columbia County, Pennsylvania highlighting Catawissa Township
Map of Columbia County, Pennsylvania
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Columbia
Settled	1774
Incorporated	1785
Area
• Total	12.9 sq mi (33.4 km2)
• Land	12.4 sq mi (32.0 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	2,372
• Estimate (2016)	955
• Density	75/sq mi (29.1/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	570
FIPS code	42-037-11744

Catawissa Township is a township near the borough of Catawissa, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 932 at the 2010 census.

Catawissa Township is the oldest municipality in Columbia County. It was first formed in 1785 from parts of Augusta Township. When first formed, Catawissa Township stretched from Montour County in the west to western Schuylkill County in the east. The creations of Roaring Creek Township, Franklin Township, and Main Township in 1832, 1843, and 1844 respectively, reduced the size of Catawissa Township significantly.

The first Native Americans to settle in the vicinity of the township were the Piscatawese, Conoys, or Gangawese, who built a wigwam in Catawissa. The first house in Catawissa Township was built in 1774 by Moses Roberts. By the mid to late 1770s, Quakers had arrived in the township. More settlers arrived in Catawissa Township in 1782. The same year, a group of Native Americans arrived in the area to re-establish a wigwam. This led to strife between them and the settlers, and several murders occurred.

In 1833, there were two furnaces and two forges within the boundaries of Catawissa Township as it was at that time.

The Hollingshead Covered Bridge No. 40 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.