The Cornplanter Township post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name. Ten smaller post offices, Cornplanter (1835), Plumer (1839) and Petroleum Centre (1864), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,687 in 20002020 census: 2,320191 years
How historic is Cornplanter Township?
A−
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Cornplanter Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cornplanter Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cornplanter Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cornplanter 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 Cornplanter Township’s 4.2 sits near the middle of its state (65% 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 A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.1 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 Cornplanter Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
McClintocksville was a small community in Cornplanter Township in Venango County, Pennsylvania. In 1861, it was the site of Wamsutta Oil Refinery, the first business venture of Henry Huttleston Rogers, who became a leading United States capitalist, businessman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. Rogers and his young wife Abbie Palmer Gifford Rogers lived in a one-room shack there along Oil Creek for several years.
Shortly later, Rogers met oil pioneer Charles Pratt who purchased the entire output of the tiny Wamsutta Oil Refinery. In 1867, Rogers joined Pratt in forming Charles Pratt and Company, which was purchased by Standard Oil in 1874. Rogers became one of the key men in John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cornplanter Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Warren sheet · 1:250,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cornplanter Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Cornplanter Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Cornplanter Township post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cornplanter Township rank for history?
Cornplanter Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns. 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 Cornplanter Township?
One place: the Pithole City, Site of (listed 1973).
How old are the homes in Cornplanter Township?
25% of Cornplanter Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 Wikidata (2), 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.
