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BHistory
History · Brush Valley Township

Brush Valley Township dates to 1803, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1902 on.

1803founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Brush Valley Township began

When was Brush Valley Township founded?

1803

Brush Valley Township dates its founding to 1803 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1842.

2020 census: 1,675223 years

How historic is Brush Valley Township?

B

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1842.
History grade

What drives Brush Valley Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brush Valley Township is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brush Valley Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1803, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194018.1% of homes (±8.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+National 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 59%
NewerOlder

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 Brush Valley 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 Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1803.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.3 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Brush Valley Township’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Brush Valley Township, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Brush Valley Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19024 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1998. Watch Brush Valley Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1803: 223 years of Brush Valley Township.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

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

Brush Valley
1842–today
Suncliff
1868–1914
Rico
1899–1910
Claghorn
1917–1924
Dias
1920–1937
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Brush ValleyClaghornDiasLittletownRicoSuncliff
Gone or out of use
Evans FieldairportOakgrove Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Brush Valley Township
Brush ValleyBrush Valley MethodistCresswellDutch Bethel EvangelicalEvansFryeRobinson

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

Help out

Start Brush Valley Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brush Valley 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
On the map

Brush Valley Township on the map, 1902 to 1998

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

Brush Valley Township on the 1902 USGS mapBrush Valley Township on the 1963 USGS mapBrush Valley Township on the 1973 USGS mapBrush Valley Township on the 1998 USGS map1902Indiana 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 Brush Valley Township.

The story so far

Brush Valley Township, in brief

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

Brush Valley is an unincorporated community in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 56 and Pennsylvania Route 259, 7.4 miles (11.9 km) southeast of Indiana. Brush Valley was founded by John Cresswell in 1803. The town was originally named Mechanicsburgh. It has its own ZIP code, 15720.

Brush Valley Township was established in 1803. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,858 to 1,675 (-10%).

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

Timeline

Brush Valley Township, 1803 to 1914

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1803
    FoundingBrush Valley Township is established
  3. 1842Post officeThe Brush Valley post office opens
  4. 1868Post officeThe Suncliff post office opens
  5. 1899Post officeThe Rico post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1910Post officeThe Rico post office closes
  9. 1914Post officeThe Suncliff 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.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Brush Valley Township

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

See all →
James StewartAmerican actor and military officer · b. 1908
Edward AbbeyAmerican author and essayist · b. 1927
Renée FlemingAmerican opera soprano · b. 1959
Patricia RobertsonAmerican astronaut · b. 1963
Jack SonniAmerican musician · b. 1954
Malcolm CowleyAmerican novelist · b. 1898
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Cherryhill Township1 historic placeA−West Wheatfield Township1 historic placeA−East Wheatfield TownshipIts storyB−White TownshipIts storyC−Center TownshipIts storyB−Buffington Township1 historic placeB−Burrell TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Brush Valley Township’s history

What year was Brush Valley Township founded?

In 1803, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Brush Valley Township’s post office opened in 1842.

How does Brush Valley Township rank for history?

Brush Valley Township is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns. 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 Brush Valley Township?

18% of Brush Valley Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 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.