The story
Read it all →How Delaware Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Delaware Township.
The New Hamburg Historical Area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Delaware Township
20% of Delaware Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 1 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 2000.
2on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Delaware Township’s history
How historic is Delaware Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Delaware Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Delaware Township is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Delaware Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194019.7% of homes (±5.5) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 9.8 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
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 Delaware Township’s 9.8 sits above most of its state (77% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Delaware Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Delaware Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Delaware Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19083 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1970. Watch Delaware Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Delaware Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Delaware Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Delaware Grove
New Hamburg
Kremis
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Delaware GroveFive PointsKremisNew HamburgOniontown
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Delaware Township
BethalDelawareMoyerSaint John's
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Delaware Township on the map, 1908 to 1970
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Delaware Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Shenango sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Delaware Township.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Delaware Township in 1888
Passages that mention Delaware Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 520Read the page →
Read the text
Villages. — New Hamburgh, on the left bank of the Shenango, west of the center of Delaware Township, is the metropolis of the township. It was laid out in 1838 by Peter Beil, on lands settled by Samuel Williamson as early as 1820. The growth of the place did not begin until 1840, when Peter Beil, George Kamerer and Eli George started the first store. The first tin-shop was started by Mr. George in 1838, on the first village lot gold. Daniel Hecker was the pioneer justice of the peace. The first shop and the first cabinetshop were started in 1840, by Charles Cotterman and James Neihart, respectively.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 918Read the page →
Read the text
made in Lancaster County, Penn. He subsequently lived in Crawford County, in the vicinity of Jamestown, Penn. In 1823 he located in Mercer County, on the Dumars farm, in Hempfield Township, afterward on the Bigler and Flock farms, in Delaware Township. In 1827 he purchased a tract of 200 acres, known as Lot 974, in the northeast corner of Delaware Township, upon a part of which our subject now resides. He was a plain, unassuming farmer, but a man who took a deep interest in educational matters, and it was through his exertions that the first school was established, and a building erected for
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.
Timeline
Delaware Township, 1840 to 1916
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1840Post officeThe Delaware Grove post office opens
- 1853Post officeThe New Hamburg post office opens
- 1880Post officeThe Kremis post office opens
- 1886Post officeThe Delaware Grove post office closes
- 20th century
- 1906Post officeThe New Hamburg post office closes
- 1908
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1916Post officeThe Kremis post office closes
By decade
Delaware Township, decade by decade
2024
2024
2024
2024
2014
2014On the National Register
2 historic places in Delaware Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
New Hamburg Historical Area
Districts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Delaware Township, census by census
Between 2,088 and 2,291 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Delaware Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Delaware Township
Nobody well known was born in Delaware Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Jefferson TownshipIts storyC+Hempfield Township2 historic placesBOtter Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFairview TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFredoniaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPymatuning Township1 historic placeB−
Questions about Delaware Township’s history
How does Delaware Township rank for history?
Delaware Township is more historic than 81% 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 Delaware Township?
Two places: the New Hamburg Historical Area (listed 1974) and the Big Bend Historical Area (1975).
How old are the homes in Delaware Township?
20% of Delaware Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1970.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.