Lower Salford Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
| Lower Salford Township | |
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| Township | |
An old stone house in Lederach in Lower Salford Township
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 Location of Lower Salford Township in Montgomery County |
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 Lower Salford Township
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| Coordinates: 40°15′37.9″N 75°23′58.2″W / 40.260528°N 75.399500°WCoordinates: 40°15′37.9″N 75°23′58.2″W / 40.260528°N 75.399500°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Montgomery |
| Founded | 1741 (split from Salford) |
| Founded by | Jacob Reiff |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council - Manager |
| • Body | Board of Supervisors |
| • Chairman | Douglas A. Gifford |
| • Vice-Chairman | Douglas Johnson |
| • Supervisors |
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| Area | |
| • Total | 14.5 sq mi (38 km2) |
| • Land | 14.4 sq mi (37 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2) 0.69%% |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 5.2 mi (8.4 km) |
| • Width | 5.7 mi (9.2 km) |
| Elevation | 276 ft (84 m) |
| Population | |
| • Estimate (2013) | 15,318 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 19438 |
| Area codes | 215, 610 |
| Website | lowersalfordtownship |
Lower Salford is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania located one mile west of the Lansdale exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (exit 31). It is centered on the intersection of Route 63 (Sumneytown Pike/ Main St), and Route 113 (Harleysville Pike).
The township has a total area of 14.5 square miles (37.5 km2), of which, 14.4 square miles (37.3 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2) of it (0.41%) is water. The East Branch Perkiomen Creek and Skippack Creek are tributaries of the Perkiomen Creek draining the township.
Lower Salford was originally part of the larger Salford Township, until, in March 1741 Jacob Reiff petitioned the Court of Quarter Sessions of Philadelphia County to split the Township into what are now called Lower Salford, Upper Salford, Marlborough, and Franconia Townships. Lower Salford contains the villages of Harleysville, Lederach, Mainland, and Vernfield.
The area around Lower Salford was originally settled in the early 1700s by farmers from Germany, Switzerland, and Holland. Because of this, most people at the time spoke primarily Pennsylvania Dutch, until the mid 1900s.
Heckler Plains is a 36-acre farmstead, now park. It was once home to Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, a General at the Battle of Gettysburg. There still stands a barn from 1761, an 18th-century kitchen garden, and an outdoor bake oven from 1780. Hecklerfest is held annually and has soap making, butter churning, candle dipping, and other Colonial Era demonstrations.
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