The Chartiers Township post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Chartiers (1849), McConnells Mill (1885) and McGovern (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 7,154 in 20002020 census: 8,632177 years
How historic is Chartiers Township?
B+
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Chartiers Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Chartiers Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chartiers Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #478 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chartiers 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 Chartiers Township’s 1.1 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 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 Chartiers Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The township was named after Peter Chartier, a trapper of French and Shawnee parentage who established a Pekowi Shawnee community in this area in 1734. In April 1745, Chartier and the Shawnees abandoned the town when the Pennsylvania provincial council indicted him for treason after he defied Governor Patrick Gordon over the sale of rum to the Shawnees.
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.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chartiers Township.
1986Pittsburgh West sheet · 1:100,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chartiers 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.
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Washington County - Chartiers - ED 63-44, ED 63-45, ED 63-46, ED…, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Chartiers Township’s page.
The Chartiers Township post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Chartiers Township rank for history?
Chartiers Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #478 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 Chartiers Township?
One place: the John White House (listed 1998).
How old are the homes in Chartiers Township?
14% of Chartiers Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 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 (3), Wikidata (1), 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.
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