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History · Barry Township

Barry Township’s post office opened in 1839, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1892 on.

1839first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Barry Township began

When was Barry Township founded?

1839

The Barry Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Barry (1839), Weishample (1869) and Mabel (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 916187 years
Founding year: the first Barry Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Barry 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 Barry Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Barry Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1977. Watch Barry Township change.Deep rootsA post office since 1839: 187 years of Barry Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Barry Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Barry 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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

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

Barry
1839–1905
Weishample
1869–1907
Mabel
1872–1905
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beurys LakeMabelTaylorvilleWeishample

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

On the map

Barry Township on the map, 1892 to 1977

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

Barry Township on the 1892 USGS mapBarry Township on the 1947 USGS mapBarry Township on the 1954 USGS mapBarry Township on the 1969 USGS mapBarry Township on the 1977 USGS map1892Pine Grove 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 Barry Township.

The story so far

Barry Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Barry Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Barry Township is a township in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1822, it is named for American Revolutionary War Commander John Barry and was formed from parts of Norwegian and Schuylkill Townships.

Its first post office opened in 1839. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 932 in 2010, 916 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Barry Township, 1839 to 1907

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1839Post officeThe Barry post office opens
  3. 1869Post officeThe Weishample post office opens
  4. 1872Post officeThe Mabel post office opens
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1905Post officeThe Barry post office closes
  8. 1905Post officeThe Mabel post office closes
  9. 1907Post officeThe Weishample post office closes
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.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Barry Township

Nobody well known was born in Barry Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
E
Ellen Albertini DowAmerican actress · b. 1913
J
Janet AsimovAuthor, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst · b. 1926
E
Eddie CostaAmerican jazz musician; pianist and vibraphonist · b. 1930
Emil SeidelAmerican politician · b. 1864
W
William J. WaltersheidAuxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese … · b. 1956
Frank BolickAmerican baseball player · b. 1966
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Butler TownshipIts storyBEldred TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFoster TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHegins TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Barry Township’s history

What year was Barry Township founded?

The Barry Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.