The Cecil Township post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Venice (1838), Bishop (1894) and Reissing (1897), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,585 in 20002020 census: 14,609177 years
How historic is Cecil Township?
A−
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Cecil Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Cecil Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cecil Township is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #391 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cecil 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 Cecil Township’s 2.7 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 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 Cecil 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 Cecil Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Carnegie 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 Cecil Township.
The story so far
Cecil Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cecil Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Cecil-Bishop is a census-designated place in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,730 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place encompasses the unincorporated communities of Cecil and Bishop along Pennsylvania Route 50. Cecil-Bishop is located in the geographic center of Cecil Township. Much of the farmland in the area has been developed into planned neighborhoods since the 1990s due to the development of the Southpointe business park as well as Cecil Township's growth as a suburb of Pittsburgh.
Its first post office opened in 1849. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 11,271 to 14,609 (+30%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Cecil Township in 1910
Passages that mention Cecil Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
20th century history of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania1910 · page 1311Read the page →
Read the text
Campbell L. Reed attended the schools of Cecil Township and for a number of years engaged in farming and resided on the line between Washington and Allegheny Counties. About 1890 he moved to Cecil Township and there conducted a lumber yard for the firm of Short & Wade and later purchased the business and continued there until 1900, when he sold out all his interests and then came to Houston, where he embarked in the same
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
20th century history of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania1910 · page 1323Read the page →
Read the text
Harry W. Denny was educated in the public schools of Cecil Township, Jefferson Academy at Canonsburg and the McDonald Academy. Impaired health caused him to return to the out-door life on the farm, which proved the medicine he required and he remained in Cecil Township until his marriage, when he settled at Hickory and in April, 1906, became assistant cashier of the Farmers National Bank. He has other financial
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Cecil Township, 1838 to 1904
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Cecil Township post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cecil Township rank for history?
Cecil Township is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #391 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 Cecil Township?
One place: the Stephenson-Campbell House (listed 2002).
How old are the homes in Cecil Township?
13% of Cecil Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
