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C+History
History · Decatur Township

Decatur Township’s post office opened in 1850, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #898 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: maps from 1934 on.

1850first post office
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Decatur Township began

When was Decatur Township founded?

1850

The Decatur Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Seven smaller post offices, Decatur (1850), Paintersville (1872) and Soradoville (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 2,968176 years

How historic is Decatur Township?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Decatur Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Decatur Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Decatur Township is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #898 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 Decatur Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194016.3% of homes (±6.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 13%

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 Decatur 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 (±6.3 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 Decatur Township’s past

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

Lost villages7 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Decatur Township, and 9 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Decatur Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

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

Decatur
1850–1903
Paintersville
1872–1933
Soradoville
1872–1893
Wagner
1872–1940
Alfarata
1891–1904
Snook
1896–1904
Shindle
1897–1916
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AlfarataBelltownDecaturPaintersvilleRager SummitShindleSnookSoradovilleWagner
Gone or out of use
Bowersox SchoolschoolKrick SchoolschoolShangri La Airportairport
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Decatur Township
Alfarata LutheranBell - SiglerBelltownLawver's United MethodistPaintersville Christian Missionary AllianceSaint Mark's LutheranSamuels ChurchWagner

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

Help out

Start Decatur Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Decatur Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Decatur Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Decatur Township is a township in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,967 at the 2020 census. This township is named after war hero Stephen Decatur, Jr.

Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,137 to 2,968 (-5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Decatur Township, 1850 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Decatur post office opens
  3. 1872Post officeThe Paintersville post office opens
  4. 1872Post officeThe Soradoville post office opens
  5. 1893Post officeThe Soradoville post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903Post officeThe Decatur post office closes
  8. 1933Post officeThe Paintersville post office closes
  9. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Decatur Township, decade by decade

Today7 recent
US 522 nb in Wagner, PA, June 20242024US 522 nb in Wagner, PA, June 2024US 522 nb in Decatur Twp., Mifflin Co., PA (2), June 20242024US 522 nb in Decatur Twp., Mifflin Co., PA (2), June …US 522 nb in Decatur Twp., Mifflin Co., PA (1), June 20242024US 522 nb in Decatur Twp., Mifflin Co., PA (1), June …US 522 nb in Alfarata, PA, June 20242024US 522 nb in Alfarata, PA, June 2024US 522 nb entering West Beaver Twp., Snyder Co., PA, June 20242024US 522 nb entering West Beaver Twp., Snyder Co., PA, …US 522 nb entering Decatur Twp., Mifflin Co., PA, June 20242024US 522 nb entering Decatur Twp., Mifflin Co., PA, Jun…Old schoolhouse Decatur Twp Mifflin Co PA2016Old schoolhouse Decatur Twp Mifflin Co PA
On the map

Decatur Township on the map, 1934 to 1977

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

Decatur Township on the 1934 USGS mapDecatur Township on the 1959 USGS mapDecatur Township on the 1969 USGS mapDecatur Township on the 1977 USGS map1934Mifflintown 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 Decatur Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Decatur Township

Nobody well known was born in Decatur Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
T
Trent HidlayAmerican wrestler · b. 1999
Adam HarrisAmerican politician · b. 1975
Joseph M. BelfordAmerican politician · b. 1852
Ronald FoglemanRetired US Air Force general · b. 1942
Samuel B. GriffithRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1906
S
Stan StartzellAmerican soccer player · b. 1950
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Armagh TownshipIts storyBFermanagh TownshipIts storyB+Fayette TownshipIts storyC+Derry Township3 historic placesA−West Beaver TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Decatur Township’s history

What year was Decatur Township founded?

The Decatur Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Decatur Township rank for history?

Decatur Township is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #898 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 Decatur Township?

16% of Decatur Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1978.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (7), 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.