24% of Caernarvon Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #160 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 11 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1980.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Caernarvon Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #160 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Caernarvon 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 Caernarvon Township’s 32.7 sits above most of its state (84% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% 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 (±6.2 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 Caernarvon 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
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Churchtown
1807–1973
Beartown
1832–1927
Mast
1883–1909
Narvon
1889–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BeartownChurchtownNarvon
Gone or out of use
Beartown Post Officepost officeChurchtown Post Officepost office
10cemeteries and burying grounds inside Caernarvon Township
Bangor EpiscopalCaernarvon ChurchChurchtown Old Order MennoniteChurchtown United Methodist ChurchConestoga Mennonite ChurchHertzler FamilyLichty's Mennonite ChurchMastMount Culmen Evangelical CongregationalStyer Family
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Caernarvon Township on the map, 1905 to 1999
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Caernarvon Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Honey Brook 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 Caernarvon Township.
The Bangor Episcopal Church, Ann Cunningham Evans House, Edward Davies House, Pool Forge Covered Bridge, Poole Forge, Weaver's Mill Covered Bridge, and Windsor Forge Mansion are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Caernarvon Township is an anglicisation of Welsh name Caernarfon, Gwynedd. The name means "Castle on-to Mon" and is a historic castle city underneath Anglesey (Ynys Mon) where its name derives from.
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.
Caernarvon Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #160 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 Caernarvon Township?
8 listings: 3 buildings, 3 historic districts, the Bangor Episcopal Church, the Windsor Forge Mansion and the Poole Forge, with 11 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 15 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Caernarvon Township?
24% of Caernarvon Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1976.
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), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (8), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2007
2007
