Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #52 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 275 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 2000.
Annville Township dates its founding to 1762 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 2000.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Annville Township is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #52 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Annville Township’s 564 sits above most of its state (94% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 277 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Annville Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Annville Township.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveConservatory, Lebanon Valley CollegeFrom Wikipedia’s history of Annville Township.
Annville Township was divided into North Annville Township and South Annville Township in 1845. In 1912, the new Annville Township was formed between the two to encompass the township of Annville.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1905Conservatory, Lebanon Valley College
1905Ladies Hall, Lebanon Valley College
1905Main building, Lebanon Valley College
1906Quittapahilla Bridge
1906East Main Street
1906Christ Reformed Church
1906Conservatory of Music-Lebanon Valley College
1906Main Street, looking West from White Oak St
1906Noon Hour, Potts Colliery, Ashland, PANo then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Annville Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 4,518 and 4,936 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Annville Township’s Wikipedia page.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1762, according to Wikidata. Annville Township’s post office opened in 1811, and the census of 2000 counted 4,518 people here.
Annville Township is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #52 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Two places: the Biever House (listed 1978) and the Annville Historic District (1979).
26% of Annville Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1959.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From the Library of Congress (9), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
