Buckingham Township’s post office opened in 1802, and 11 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #348 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Buckingham Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. 11 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Buckingham Friends Meeting House, a National Historic Landmark, and four historic districts with 123 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1890 on.
The Buckingham Township post office opened in 1802, the earliest record of the town by name. Eight smaller post offices, Bushington (1832), Mechanics Valley (1878) and Mozart (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 20,851224 years
How historic is Buckingham Township?
A−
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Buckingham Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Buckingham Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Buckingham Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #348 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Buckingham Township’s overall grade.
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 Buckingham Township’s 70.0 sits above most of its state (87% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 146 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Buckingham Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Eight other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Buckingham
1802–today
Mechanicsville
1830–today
Bushington
1832–1841
Lahaska
1844–today
Forest Grove
1877–today
Mechanics Valley
1878–1934
Holicong
1881–today
Mozart
1886–1919
Buckingham Valley
1892–1956
Garisville
1894–1902
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bennetts CornerBuckinghamBuckingham ValleyCentervilleCottagevilleCross KeysFive PointsForest GroveFurlongHolicongLahaskaLandisvilleMechanics ValleyMechanicsvilleMozartPinevilleSpring Valley
Gone or out of use
Buckingham AirportairportBuckingham Post Officepost officeBuckingham SchoolschoolBuckingham Valley Post Officepost officeFriendship SchoolschoolHolicong Post Officepost officeMichener Post Officepost officeMontessori Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Buckingham Township
Buckingham FriendsForest GroveMechanicsvilleMount Gilead African Methodist Episcopal ChurchTrinity Episcopal Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Buckingham Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Buckingham Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Buckingham Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Buckingham Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Buckingham is an unincorporated community in Buckingham Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. Buckingham is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 202, Pennsylvania Route 263, and Pennsylvania Route 413.
Its first post office opened in 1802. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 20,075 to 20,851 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Buckingham Township, 1802 to 2003
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buckingham Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1890Doylestown 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 Buckingham Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Buckingham Township post office opened in 1802, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Buckingham Township rank for history?
Buckingham Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #348 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 Buckingham Township?
11 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Buckingham Friends Meeting House (a National Historic Landmark since 2003), 4 historic districts with 123 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 146 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Buckingham Township?
7% of Buckingham Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (11), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
