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B−History
History · Aston Township

Aston Township dates to 1682

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #741 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Most of Aston Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1930.

1682founded
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Photo by and (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man) · CC BY-SA 2.5
Quick answers

How Aston Township began

When was Aston Township founded?

1682

Aston Township dates its founding to 1682 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 2,659 in 19302020 census: 16,791344 years

How historic is Aston Township?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Aston Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aston Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #741 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Aston Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1682, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19404.7% of homes (±2.0) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 28%

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 Aston Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1682.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size.

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 →

What stands out about Aston Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Aston Township, and 11 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Aston Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Older than the countryEstablished in 1682, 94 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 18945 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1993. Watch Aston Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Village Green
1822–1899
Aston Mills
1878–1919
Green Ridge
1944–1955
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Aston ArmsAston MillsBalinahinchBridgewaterChester PlazaCroziervilleFisher CornersGreen RidgeMorganRockdaleVillage Green
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Aston Township
Calvary EpiscopalMount HopeOur Lady of AngelsSaint Francis De Sales

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Aston Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Aston Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Aston Township, 1682 to 1990

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 17th century
  2. 1682
    FoundingAston Township is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1791Born hereIsaac D. Barnard is born here
  5. 19th century
  6. 1822Post officeThe Village Green post office opens
  7. 1878Post officeThe Aston Mills post office opens
  8. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1899Post officeThe Village Green post office closes
  10. 20th century
  11. 1919Post officeThe Aston Mills post office closes
  12. 1944Post officeThe Green Ridge post office opens
  13. 1955Post officeThe Green Ridge post office closes
  14. 1984Born hereAdam Pecorari is born here
  15. 1987Born hereRobbie Pecorari is born here
  16. 1990Born hereMatt Atkins is born here
The story

How Aston Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Aston Township.

Read it all →

Prior to European settlement, the area that is now Aston Township was inhabited by the Lenni-Lenape people. The Lenni-Lenape lived throughout southeastern Pennsylvania, including along the Delaware River and its tributaries.

Evidence of Lenape inhabitation continued into the colonial period. According to local historical accounts, a family of natives maintained a wigwam on the Aston side of Chester Creek as late as 1770.

ChaptersIndigenous HistoryEarly SettlementRevolutionary and Colonial Era20th Century-Present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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 album
On the map

Aston Township on the map, 1894 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Aston Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Aston Township on the 1894 USGS mapAston Township on the 1941 USGS mapAston Township on the 1953 USGS mapAston Township on the 1967 USGS mapAston Township on the 1993 USGS map1894Chester sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Aston Township.

People over time

Aston Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,0001940196019802000202016,791

Grew from 2,659 people in 1930 to 16,791 in 2020, 6 times over.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Aston Township’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Aston Township

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Isaac D. BarnardAmerican politician · b. 1791
A
Adam PecorariAmerican racing driver · b. 1984
M
Matt AtkinsGolfer · b. 1990
R
Robbie PecorariAmerican racing driver · b. 1987
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Middletown Township2 historic placesAChester TownshipIts storyB−Village Green-Green RidgeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChester Heights4 historic placesC+BrookhavenIts storyB−Upper Chichester Township1 historic placeB−Concord Township11 historic placesBBethel Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Aston Township’s history

What year was Aston Township founded?

In 1682, according to Wikidata. Aston Township’s post office opened in 1822, and the census of 1930 counted 2,659 people here.

How does Aston Township rank for history?

Aston Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #741 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.

How old are the homes in Aston Township?

5% of Aston Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1970.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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).

From Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.