Lancaster Township's growth was slow but steady, with about 150 people joining the community each decade prior to 1900.

Since then, as the Industrial Revolution came to a close, Lancaster Township has been transformed into a mostly residential municipality.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 6.0 square miles (16 km2), all land.

Other named locations in the township are School Lane Hills, Woodlawn, Hamilton Park, Colonial Manor, Wabank, Engleside, and Conestoga Woods.

[8] The township is home to President James Buchanan's summer residence, Wheatland, located at 1120 Marietta Avenue.

The 1828 Federal-style mansion is a National Historic Landmark[9] and has been restored to reflect the period of Buchanan's occupancy in the mid-19th century.

[10] Lancaster Township is governed by a three-member Board of Supervisors, who serve staggered six-year terms.

[11] The current supervisors are Steven Elliott, Benjamin Bamford, and Iber Guerrero Lopez.

In the municipal election on November 3, 2009, Tony Allen was defeated in his bid for a fourth term as supervisor by Democrat Benjamin Bamford in a very close race.

Initial results gave Bamford an 11-vote margin of victory, or less than one-half of one percent of votes cast.