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Conemaugh River south of BlairsvillePhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
C+History
History · Burrell Township

Burrell Township’s post office opened in 1857, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #831 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1860.

1857first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Burrell Township began

When was Burrell Township founded?

1857

The Burrell Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Black Lick (1809), Burrell (1857) and Black Lick Station (1859), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,251 in 18602020 census: 3,491169 years

How historic is Burrell Township?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Burrell Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Burrell Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Burrell Township is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #831 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Burrell Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194022.4% of homes (±7.6) · 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 42%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 20%

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 Burrell 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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 points). 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 Burrell 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 Burrell Township, and 9 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Burrell Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19206 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1993. Watch Burrell Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

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

Black Lick
1809–1821
Black Lick
1850–today
Burrell
1857–1902
Black Lick Station
1859–1906
Josephine
1906–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BurrellCampbells MillFairfield HeightsJosephineMarshall HeightsPalmertownSmithSnyderStrangford
Gone or out of use
Reisinger Schoolschool

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

Help out

Start Burrell Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burrell 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

Burrell Township on the map, 1920 to 1993

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

Burrell Township on the 1920 USGS mapBurrell Township on the 1944 USGS mapBurrell Township on the 1964 USGS mapBurrell Township on the 1973 USGS mapBurrell Township on the 1981 USGS mapBurrell Township on the 1993 USGS map1920New Florence 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 Burrell Township.

The story so far

Burrell Township, in brief

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

Burrell Township is a township in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. Burrell Township was formed from Black Lick Township in 1853, named after Judge Burrell. The population was 3,525 at the 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 4,393 tabulated in 2010. The township includes the communities of Bell's Mills, Black Lick, Campbells Mill, Fairfield Heights, Josephine, Marshall Heights, Oake's Point, Palmertown, Smith, and Strangford.

Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,393 to 3,491 (-21%).

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

Timeline

Burrell Township, 1809 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1809Post officeThe Black Lick post office opens
  3. 1821Post officeThe Black Lick post office closes
  4. 1850Post officeThe Black Lick post office opens
  5. 1857Post officeThe Burrell post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902Post officeThe Burrell post office closes
  8. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Burrell Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Route 22 West bound - panoramio (63)2016Route 22 West bound - panoramio (63)Route 22 - panoramio (9)2015Route 22 - panoramio (9)Route 22 - panoramio (7)2015Route 22 - panoramio (7)Route 22 - panoramio (14)2015Route 22 - panoramio (14)Conemaugh River south of Blairsville2015Conemaugh River south of BlairsvilleMap of Indiana County, Pennsylvania Highlighting Burrell Township2008Map of Indiana County, Pennsylvania Highlighting Burr…Map
People over time

Burrell Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,500190019502000Peak: 4,393

Between 1,251 and 4,393 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Burrell Township

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

See all →
James StewartAmerican actor and military officer · b. 1908
Fred RogersAmerican television personality · b. 1928
Arnold PalmerAmerican golfer · b. 1929
Edward AbbeyAmerican author and essayist · b. 1927
Renée FlemingAmerican opera soprano · b. 1959
Patricia RobertsonAmerican astronaut · b. 1963
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Black Lick TownshipIts storyC+Derry Township3 historic placesBCenter TownshipIts storyB−West Wheatfield Township1 historic placeA−Fairfield Township1 historic placeBBrush Valley TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Burrell Township’s history

What year was Burrell Township founded?

The Burrell Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Burrell Township rank for history?

Burrell Township is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #831 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.

How old are the homes in Burrell Township?

22% of Burrell Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 (6), 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.