West Donegal Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

West Donegal Township, Pennsylvania
Township
View toward York County
Map of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania highlighting West Donegal Township
Map of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Lancaster
Settled	1719
Incorporated	1838
Government
• Type	Board of Supervisors
Area
• Total	15.6 sq mi (40 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	8,260
• Density	420.1/sq mi (162.2/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Website	West Donegal Township

West Donegal Township is a township in northwestern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,260 at the 2010 census.

The township derives its name from Donegal, in Ireland. The original township of Donegal was organized by the court of Chester County in 1722, and was one of the two townships which composed Lancaster County at the time of its erection in 1729. On the 24th of June, 1838, a division was effected, whereby the old township was constituted into two townships, to be separately and distinctly recognized as East Donegal and West Donegal.

The settlers of West Donegal were of Scots-Irish descent and were primarily farmers who were drawn to the area by the rich soils and plentiful streams. Thus the abundant produce provided by the land was able to be made into flour by the many mills which sprang up in the area.

Early settlers, Arthur Patterson and others, organized a Presbyterian Church at Donegal in 1726, and erected the old church edifice at that time. The first three pastors of it were from Scotland. Bartram Galbraith, grandson of James Galbraith, was Lieutenant for Lancaster County, the first three years of the Revolution, and many members of that family served in various official positions, as also did Alexander Lowrey and several of that family.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 15.6 square miles (40.3 km²), all of it land. It is named after County Donegal, Ireland.

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,539 people, 2,474 households, and 1,882 families residing in the township. The population density was 420.1 people per square mile (162.2/km²). There were 2,560 housing units at an average density of 164.5/sq mi (63.5/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.24% White, 0.28% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.