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History · Caernarvon Township

Caernarvon Township dates to 1752, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Caernarvon Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 104 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1980.

1752founded
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Caernarvon Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Caernarvon Township began

When was Caernarvon Township founded?

1752

Caernarvon Township dates its founding to 1752 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1980.

First census: 1,710 in 19802020 census: 4,234274 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1806.The full story ↓

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.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Morgantown Historic District takes in 104 historic buildings.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Caernarvon Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19056 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1999. Watch Caernarvon Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Caernarvon Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Caernarvon Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 104 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
104
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Morgantown Historic District
Morgantown Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Georgian1
Gothic Revival1
Italianate1
Queen Anne1
Prairie School1
Bungalow1
Morgantown Historic DistrictGeorgian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Morgantown
1806–today
Caernarvon
1857–1862
Joanna
1890–1964
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Brittany EstatesJoannaKenneysMorgantownPennwood Farms
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Caernarvon Township
CaernarvonHarmony United Methodist ChurchPine GroveRock Church RoadSaint Thomas Episcopal Church

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

The story

How Caernarvon Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Caernarvon Township.

Read it all →

Caernarvon was so named by Welsh settlers after the town of Caernarfon in North Wales.

In 1718, William Davies and a band of Welsh settlers obtained land warrants stretching from the headwaters of the Conestoga River and reaching several miles downstream. When Lancaster County was established in 1729, this region was given the name Caernarvon Township in honor of its inhabitants.

When a portion of Lancaster County was transferred to the newly organized Berks County in 1752, the new boundary ran through existing Caernarvon Township as well as neighboring Brecknock Township.

Morgantown Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Caernarvon Township, 1752 to 1964

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1752
    FoundingCaernarvon Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1806Post officeThe Morgantown post office opens
  5. 1811Born hereJehu Glancy Jones is born here
  6. 1857Post officeThe Caernarvon post office opens
  7. 1862In the archiveTownship map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, from actual surveys
  8. 1862Post officeThe Caernarvon post office closes
  9. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Caernarvon - ED 6-5…
  10. 1890Post officeThe Joanna post office opens
  11. 20th century
  12. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1910In the archiveCaernarvon Cemetery
  14. 1964Post officeThe Joanna post office closes
By decade

Caernarvon Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1910s3 items
Township map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, from actual surveys1862Township map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, from actu…Map1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Caernarvon - ED 6-5, ED 6-1718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …Caernarvon Cemetery1910Caernarvon Cemetery
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Twin Valley Fire Department, Caernarvon Township, Berks County, PA, July 20252025Twin Valley Fire Department, Caernarvon Township, Ber…Caernarvon Township, PA, USA - panoramio (1)2014Caernarvon Township, PA, USA - panoramio (1)Caernarvon Township, PA, USA2012Caernarvon Township, PA, USATursack at night2011Tursack at nightTursack2011Tursack
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.

Caernarvon Township on the 1905 USGS mapCaernarvon Township on the 1941 USGS mapCaernarvon Township on the 1956 USGS mapCaernarvon Township on the 1969 USGS mapCaernarvon Township on the 1975 USGS mapCaernarvon Township on the 1999 USGS map1905Honey 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.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Caernarvon - ED 6-5, ED 6-17
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Caernarvon - ED 6-5, ED 6-17, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Caernarvon Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Caernarvon Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5001980200020204,252

Grew from 1,710 people in 1980 to 4,252 in 2020.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

New MorganIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRobeson Township4 historic placesA−Honey Brook TownshipIts storyC−West Nantmeal Township2 historic placesABrecknock Township1 historic placeB

Questions about Caernarvon Township’s history

What year was Caernarvon Township founded?

In 1752, according to Wikidata. Caernarvon Township’s post office opened in 1806, and the census of 1980 counted 1,710 people here.

What is on the National Register in Caernarvon Township?

One place: the Morgantown Historic District (listed 1995).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.