Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers
How Clay Township began
When was Clay Township founded?
1873
The Clay Township post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Durlach (1840), Clay (1873) and Weidmanville (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 6,857153 years
How historic is Clay Township?
C
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Clay Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Clay Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clay Township is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #975 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clay 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 Clay Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Clay 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.
Durlach
1840–1920
Clay
1873–1966
Weidmanville
1892–1909
Hopeland
1899–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ClayDurlachHopelandMount AiryNewtownWeidmanville
Gone or out of use
Durlach Post Officepost office
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clay Township
Becker / HeffleyBrubakerDissler - Price Cemetery Middle Creek Game PreserveEberlyGockley FamilyHopelandIndiantown MennoniteLincoln ViewMount Airy Union
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Clay Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Clay Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Clay is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Clay Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 322 between Brickerville and Ephrata. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,559.
Its first post office opened in 1873. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 6,308 to 6,857 (+9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Clay Township, 1840 to 1966
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clay Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1941New Holland 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 Clay Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Clay Township
Nobody well known was born in Clay Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Clay Township post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Clay Township rank for history?
Clay Township is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #975 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.
How old are the homes in Clay Township?
8% of Clay Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
