Nantmeal was named by Welsh immigrants from the village of Nantmel in Radnorshire, now part of Powys. The Welsh name, Nantmel, means 'the valley of Mael', a tenth-century prince. The incorrect belief that it means 'Honey Brook' is based on a confusion between the personal name 'Mael', and the Welsh word 'mêl', 'honey'. The Isabella Furnace and Pleasant Hill Plantation, also known as Van Leer Place are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of, of which is land and, or 0.45%, is water. The township is partially located in the Hopewell Big Woods.
At the 2010 census, the township was 94.4% non-Hispanic White, 1.1% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 1.1% were two or more races. 2.3% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. As of the census of 2000, there were 2,031 people, 715 households, and 566 families residing in the township. The population density was 151.4 people per square mile. There were 745 housing units at an average density of 55.5/sq mi. The racial makeup of the township was 97.54% White, 0.74% African American, 0.30% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.84% of the population. There were 715 households, out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.3% were married couplesliving together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.24. In the township the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males. The median income for a household in the township was $52,128, and the median income for a family was $55,776. Males had a median income of $40,938 versus $29,813 for females. The per capita income for the township was $21,348. About 2.5% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
George Lippard, the 19th-century American novelist, journalist, and playwright, was born in 1822 in West Nantmeal Township on the farm of his father, Daniel B. Lippard. Two years later the family moved to Philadelphia after his father was injured in a farming accident. During the decade between 1844 and 1854 he was among the most widely read authors in the United States. He befriended Edgar Allan Poe and advocated a socialist political philosophy, becoming an unheralded writer for the proletariat. Even young Mark Twain expressed admiration for his historical fiction stories known as "legends". Samuel Van Leer, a well known local ironmaster and captain in the American Revolutionary War.
