Abington

Abington Township is located in Montgomery County and covers a total of 15.5 square miles (40.0 square kilometers) in the extreme southeastern section of the county. It is bounded on the northwest by Upper Dublin, northeast by Moreland, southeast by Philadelphia and southwest by Springfield, Cheltenham and the borough of Jenkintown. The township is 5 miles long and 3¼ miles wide and contains 160 acres.

The name of Abington has been applied from several parishes so called and formed more than 900 years ago in Northampton and Cambridgeshire, England. In the records of 1696 to 1702 the area was called Hill Township, probably after Philip Hill who at the time was an extensive land holder in the area.

The village of Abington is an old settlement; the intersection of Old York Road and Susquehanna Street dates back to 1712. A severe skirmish took place December 8, 1777 in the vicinity between the forces of the British Army under General William Howe, from Philadelphia and several regiments of the American Army from Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania.

A Post Office was established in 1877. Subsequent research has ascertained that there was a Post Office there 1816 at which time John Nulter was the Postmaster, but its use was discarded in 1818. The current Post Office carries the Zip Code 19001.

As of the 2000 census count, there are 56,103 people residing in 22,367 households, and 15,139 families residing in the township. Included in this updated count from 2004 are 21 new units, including 20 Single Faming Dwellings (SFD) and 1 townhouse or twin (SFA).

The distance from the La Mott Community Center (7420 Sycamore Avenue, La Mott, PA 19027 to the Police Headquarters in Abington, PA (1166 Old York Road, Abington, PA 19001) is 4.09 miles. (6.58 kilometers)

The township does not have a mayor. It is governed by a Board of Commissioners (as is Cheltenham Township), who are elected from each of the townships 15 wards. Like Cheltenham Township, a President of the Board is elected among the commissioners, and serves as the head of government for the Township.

The Township has sixteen communities and two Boroughs. Except for the two boroughs, Jenkintown and Rockledge, the communities are unofficial, unincorporated subdivisions of the township. These communities correspond roughly to voting districts and elementary school placement. The postal system is an important factor in these communities. For example, to send a letter to someone living or doing business in the Glenside community would be addressed to Glenside, PA 19038 rather than Abington Township, PA 19001.