The story
Read it all →How Guilford Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Guilford Township.
Guilford Township was created in 1868. It was named after Guilford, New York.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Guilford Township
Guilford Township’s post office opened in 1868, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1938 on.
1868first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Guilford Township began, and where its name came from
When was Guilford Township founded?
1868
The Guilford Township post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Guilford (1868), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 189158 years
How did Guilford Township get its name?
Guilford Township was named after Guilford, New York.
Founding year: the first Guilford Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
What stands out about Guilford Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Guilford Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Guilford Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Guilford Township’s homes were built before 1948.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Guilford Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Guilford Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Another post office, Guilford, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
BenedictBenedict JunctionGuilford
Gone or out of use
Baker Valley SchoolschoolHigh Prairie Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Guilford Township, 1868 to 1938
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1868Post officeThe Guilford post office opens
- 20th century
- 1922Post officeThe Guilford post office closes
- 1938
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Guilford Township on the map, 1938 to 1984
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Guilford Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1938Altoona sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Guilford Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Guilford Township
Nobody well known was born in Guilford Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Guilford Township’s history
What year was Guilford Township founded?
The Guilford Township post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.