1 of Butler Township’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #734 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Luzerne County Fresh Air Camp. Most of Butler Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 2000.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Butler Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #734 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Butler 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 Butler Township’s 2.0 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Butler Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Butler Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Wilkes-Barre 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 Butler Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Kis-Lyn, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Drums
1854–today
Saint Johns
1881–today
Kis-Lyn
1913–1959
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beech Mountain LakesDrumsEdgewoodHoney HoleKis-LynNescopeck PassRumbelsSaint JohnsSand Spring
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Butler Township
CalvaryDrums CommunitySaint AnthonysSaint JohnsSaints Peter and PaulSeventh Day AdventistUpper Lehigh
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The township is named after Col. Zebulon Butler; he is most famous for his action at the Battle of Wyoming, which resulted in his defeat by British-allied forces. Butler lost 340 men while attacking a superior force of Loyalists and Iroquois. In 1839, Butler Township was formed from a section of Sugarloaf Township. The southern portion of Butler Township was transferred over to Hazle Township in 1861.
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.
Butler Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #734 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 Butler Township?
One place: the Luzerne County Fresh Air Camp (listed 2004).
How old are the homes in Butler Township?
8% of Butler Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (8), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
1905
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1913
2025
2016
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