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A−History
History · Athens Township

Athens Township dates to 1783, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns · #385 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Bridge in Athens Township. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1939 on, and the census since 1840.

1783founded
1on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Athens Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Athens Township began

When was Athens Township founded?

1783

Athens Township dates its founding to 1783 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 435 in 18402020 census: 5,184243 years

How historic is Athens Township?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Athens Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Athens Township is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #385 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Athens Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1783, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194018.1% of homes (±4.9) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 1.9 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 63%

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 Athens Township’s 1.9 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1783.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points).

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 Athens 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 Athens Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,515 in 1960; 3,267 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1783: 243 years of Athens Township.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Orcutt Creek
1848–1882
Greenes Landing
1875–1904
Wilawana
1882–1965
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East AthensGreenes LandingWest AthensWilawana
Gone or out of use
Blue Swan AirportairportChapman SchoolschoolChemung Valley Landing Stripairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Athens Township
Franklin - FlowerOrange HillUkrainian CatholicWilawana

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

People over time

Athens Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0001850190019502000Peak: 4,515

Peaked at 4,515 in 1960; 3,267 people lived here in 2020.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

Timeline

Athens Township, 1779 to 1965

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1779In the archiveFort Sullivan
  3. 1783
    FoundingAthens Township is established
  4. 19th century
  5. 1848Post officeThe Orcutt Creek post office opens
  6. 1875Post officeThe Greenes Landing post office opens
  7. 1881In the archiveAthens. Bradford Co. Pa. 1881
  8. 1882Post officeThe Orcutt Creek post office closes
  9. 1882Post officeThe Wilawana post office opens
  10. 20th century
  11. 1904Post officeThe Greenes Landing post office closes
  12. 1910In the archiveBlack Diamond Express on Lehigh Valley bridge
  13. 1921In the archiveSpanishHillArtifacts
  14. 1937In the archiveColonel John Franklin Portrait, Athens, Bradford County, HABS PA,8- ,1-5
  15. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  16. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 4,515
  17. 1965Post officeThe Wilawana post office closes
The story

How Athens Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Athens Township.

Read it all →

The Athens Historic District, Protection of the Flag Monument, and Spalding Memorial Library-Tioga Point Museum are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In September 2011, Athens was heavily damaged by river flooding from Tropical Storm Lee. Much of Athens was under water, with the most damage in the downtown area along the river. Damage in nearby Tioga County, New York, was estimated at $100 million.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Athens Township, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1770s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1770s1 item
Fort Sullivan1779Fort SullivanDocument
1880s–1910s5 items
Athens. Bradford Co. Pa. 18811881Athens. Bradford Co. Pa. 1881Athens. Bradford Co. Pa. 18811881Athens. Bradford Co. Pa. 1881The New administration--visitors paying their respects to President Harrison at the White House. The presidential train…1889The New administration--visitors paying their respect…Black Diamond Express on Lehigh Valley bridge1910sBlack Diamond Express on Lehigh Valley bridgeEast entrance to old covered bridge1913East entrance to old covered bridge
1920s–1930s2 items
SpanishHillArtifacts1921SpanishHillArtifactsColonel John Franklin Portrait, Athens, Bradford County, HABS PA,8- ,1-51937Colonel John Franklin Portrait, Athens, Bradford Coun…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today16 recent
2021-09-17 13 20 39 View south along Pennsylvania State Route 199 (Main Street) just south of Pine Street in20212021-09-17 13 20 39 View south along Pennsylvania Sta…Spalding Memorial Library-Tioga Point Museum Nov 092009Spalding Memorial Library-Tioga Point Museum Nov 09Athens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, PennsylvaniaAthens, Pennsylvania2009Athens, Pennsylvania
On the map

Athens Township on the map, 1939 to 1995

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

Athens Township on the 1939 USGS mapAthens Township on the 1942 USGS mapAthens Township on the 1957 USGS mapAthens Township on the 1969 USGS mapAthens Township on the 1986 USGS mapAthens Township on the 1995 USGS map1939Sayre 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 Athens Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Athens. Bradford Co. Pa. 1881
Retake this viewAthens. Bradford Co. Pa. 1881, 1881

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Athens Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Athens Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Bridge in Athens Township
Bridge in Athens Township
Structures
Bridge in Athens TownshipStructure

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Finish Athens Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAthens. Bradford Co. Pa. 1881: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Athens3 historic placesA+SayreIts storyBGreens LandingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSheshequin Township1 historic placeA−Litchfield TownshipIts storyB−South WaverlyIts storyB+Ulster TownshipIts storyB+Ridgebury TownshipIts storyB−Smithfield TownshipIts storyB+

Questions about Athens Township’s history

What year was Athens Township founded?

In 1783, according to Wikidata. Athens Township’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1840 counted 435 people here.

How does Athens Township rank for history?

Athens Township is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #385 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.

What is on the National Register in Athens Township?

One place: the Bridge in Athens Township (listed 1988).

How old are the homes in Athens Township?

18% of Athens Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 Wikimedia Commons (22), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.