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History · Colley Township

Colley Township’s post office opened in 1866, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Clemuel Ricketts Mansion. Below: 11 old photos and papers and maps from 1934 on.

1866first post office
1on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Colley Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Colley Township began

When was Colley Township founded?

1866

The Colley Township post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Culley (1852), Colley (1866) and Murray (1905), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 615160 years
Founding year: the first Colley Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Colley Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Colley Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Mystery photos11 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Culley
1852–1866
Colley
1866–1957
Lopez
1887–today
Murray
1905–1935
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ColleyLopezMcCarroll CornerMurrayRicketts
Gone or out of use
Benton Air Force Stationmilitary
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Colley Township
JunkSaint Vladimir's

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

Help out

Start Colley Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo11 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey, Joh…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Colley Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Colley Township.

Read it all →

The Clemuel Ricketts Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Colley Township, 1852 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Culley post office opens
  3. 1866Post officeThe Culley post office closes
  4. 1866Post officeThe Colley post office opens
  5. 1887Post officeThe Lopez post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1957Post officeThe Colley post office closes
By decade

Colley Township, decade by decade

Date unknown11 to date
Historic American Buildings Survey, John Jennings, Photographer October 4, 1935 MAIN ENTRANCE (SOUTH ELEVATION). - Will…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey, John Jennings, Ph…Historic American Buildings Survey, John Jennings, Photographer October 4, 1935 SOUTH ELEVATION, FRONT. - William R. Ri…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey, John Jennings, Ph…Historic American Buildings Survey, John Jennings, Photographer October 4, 1935 WEST ELEVATION (VIEW FROM GARDEN). - Wi…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey, John Jennings, Ph…Map of Sullivan County Pennsylvania Highlighting Colley TownshipDate?Map of Sullivan County Pennsylvania Highlighting Coll…MapHABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 0 of 5) - William R. Ricketts House, North Mountain ColleyDate?HABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 0 of 5) - William R. Rickett…HABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 1 of 5) - William R. Ricketts House, North Mountain ColleyDate?HABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 1 of 5) - William R. Rickett…HABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 2 of 5) - William R. Ricketts House, North Mountain ColleyDate?HABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 2 of 5) - William R. Rickett…HABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 3 of 5) - William R. Ricketts House, North Mountain ColleyDate?HABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 3 of 5) - William R. Rickett…HABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 4 of 5) - William R. Ricketts House, North Mountain ColleyDate?HABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 4 of 5) - William R. Rickett…HABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 5 of 5) - William R. Ricketts House, North Mountain ColleyDate?HABS PA,57-COL,1- (sheet 5 of 5) - William R. Rickett…William R. Ricketts House, North Mountain ColleyDate?William R. Ricketts House, North Mountain Colley
Today1 recent
Ricketts Glen State Park Office2009Ricketts Glen State Park Office
On the map

Colley Township on the map, 1934 to 1969

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Colley Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Colley Township on the 1934 USGS mapColley Township on the 1953 USGS mapColley Township on the 1969 USGS map1934LaPorte 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 Colley 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.

Historic American Buildings Survey, John Jennings, Photographer October 4, 1935 MAIN ENTRANCE (SOUTH ELEVATION). - Will…
Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey, John Jennings, Photographer October 4, 1935 MAIN ENTRANCE (SOUTH ELEVATION). - Will…

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Colley Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Clemuel Ricketts Mansion
Clemuel Ricketts Mansion
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Georgian1
Vernacular1
Clemuel Ricketts MansionGeorgian

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Laporte TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDavidson Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCherry TownshipIts storyB+Fairmount TownshipIts storyC+North Branch TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWilmot TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Colley Township’s history

What year was Colley Township founded?

The Colley Township post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Colley Township?

One place: the Clemuel Ricketts Mansion (listed 1983).

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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.