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History · Beech Creek Township

Beech Creek Township dates to 1812, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1870.

1812founded
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Beech Creek Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Beech Creek Township began

When was Beech Creek Township founded?

1812

Beech Creek Township dates its founding to 1812 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 384 in 18702020 census: 972214 years
Founding year: Wikidata.

What stands out about Beech Creek 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19215 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1986. Watch Beech Creek Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1812: 214 years of Beech Creek Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Beech Creek Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBeech Creek RR 1915: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Beech Creek Township on the map, 1921 to 1986

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

Beech Creek Township on the 1921 USGS mapBeech Creek Township on the 1944 USGS mapBeech Creek Township on the 1967 USGS mapBeech Creek Township on the 1973 USGS mapBeech Creek Township on the 1986 USGS map1921Howard 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 Beech Creek Township.

Timeline

Beech Creek Township, 1812 to 1921

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1812
    FoundingBeech Creek Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1915In the archiveBeech Creek RR 1915
  5. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Beech Creek Township, in brief

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

Beech Creek is a borough in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Beech Creek had a population of 736. It is the setting for Fun Home, a 2006 graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel, who grew up there. Brittani Kline, winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 16, was born there.

Beech Creek Township was established in 1812. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,015 to 972 (-4%).

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

By decade

Beech Creek Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Beech Creek RR 19151915Beech Creek RR 1915
1920s–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
Today5 recent
WaterfallPA2009WaterfallPAPArock2009PArockPAcreek2009PAcreekOldSchool2009OldSchoolCreekPA2009CreekPA
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.

Beech Creek RR 1915
Retake this viewBeech Creek RR 1915, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Beech Creek Township, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 760

Between 384 and 760 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Bear SwampEast Beech
Gone or out of use
MapeslocaleSoldiers Home CamplocaleWilliam Penn Camplocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Beech Creek Township
Bossert FamilyClarkHays - Fearon

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Liberty Township1 historic placeA−Curtin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBeech CreekIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPorter TownshipIts storyB−Bald Eagle Township1 historic placeB+MonumentIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNoyes TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast Keating Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBurnside TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLamar TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Beech Creek Township’s history

What year was Beech Creek Township founded?

In 1812, according to Wikidata. the census of 1870 counted 384 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.