Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #32 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 175 buildings. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1880.
Coopersburg dates its founding to 1730 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coopersburg is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #32 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs put Coopersburg near the top nationally; its age ranks highest.
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 Coopersburg’s 705 sits above most of its state (96% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 176 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Coopersburg’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Coopersburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Coopersburg.
From Wikipedia’s history of Coopersburg.
Coopersburg was settled in about 1730. It originally was named Freyburg after local tavern owner and Joseph Frey, a judge. By the time the town was incorporated, it had been renamed Coopersburg, named after Judge Peter Cooper. The town was once the site of popular cattle sales at the estate of Tilghman S. Cooper.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Coopersburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.
near Coopersburg in 1730, by English, German and Welsh settlers. It was organized as a township in 1743- The first public road was laid out in 1750, from Heller's tavern, Lanark across the Lehigh Mountains. The Mennonite Meeting House near Coopersburg was built in 1738; Blue Church, (Lutheran and Reformed) founded in 1740. The first Lutheran minister was Rev. Henry M. Muhlenberg; the first Reformed minister was Rev. Hoffmeir. Friedensvile, church founded in I793- The first Lutheran minister was Rev. John C. Yeager, the first Reformed minister was Rev. John H.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first school was established in 1738 near Coopersburg. The schools are in an excellent condition and keep apace with schools of the other townships of the county.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyBetween 392 and 2,599 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Coopersburg’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Coopersburg’s post office has been open since 1832. Another post office, Frysburg, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1730, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Coopersburg’s post office opened in 1818, and the census of 1880 counted 392 people here.
Coopersburg is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #32 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.
Two places: the Linden Grove Pavilion (listed 1979) and the Coopersburg Historic District (1982).
33% of Coopersburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1961.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), 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.
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