The story
Read it all →How Derry Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Derry Township.
The Lewistown Armory and Old Hoopes School are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Derry Township
21% of Derry Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #319 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Old Hoopes School, the Old Stone Arch Bridge and the Lewistown Armory. Below: maps from 1924 on.
3on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
Where Derry Township’s name came from
How did Derry Township get its name?
Derry Township was named after the city of Derry in Northern Ireland.
How historic is Derry Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Derry Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Derry Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #319 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Derry Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194021.0% of homes (±4.7) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 4.1 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 69%
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 Derry Township’s 4.1 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±4.7 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 Derry 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 Derry Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Derry Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Old burying grounds12 cemeteries and burying grounds inside Derry Township.On the map since 19243 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1973. Watch Derry Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Derry Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Derry 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
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Yeagertown
Maitland
Vira
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Highland ParkMaitlandMount RockViraYeagertown
12cemeteries and burying grounds inside Derry Township
Birch HillCounty Home Potters FieldEarly Maitland BrethrenLind MemorialLittle Valley Presbyterian ChurchMaitland BrethrenMaitland CommunityMillersMount RockOrt FamilyVira Methodist ChurchYeagertown Lutheran
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Derry Township, 1870 to 1934
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1870Post officeThe Yeagertown post office opens
- 1873Post officeThe Maitland post office opens
- 1889Post officeThe Vira post office opens
- 20th century
- 1903Post officeThe Vira post office closes
- 1924
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1934Post officeThe Maitland post office closes
By decade
Derry Township, decade by decade
2024
2024
2010
2010
2008
2006On the map
Derry Township on the map, 1924 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Derry Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1924Lewistown 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 Derry Township.
On the National Register
3 historic places in Derry Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Old Hoopes School
BuildingsStructures
Architectural styles listings
Colonial Revival1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Derry Township
Nobody well known was born in Derry 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.
Questions about Derry Township’s history
How does Derry Township rank for history?
Derry Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #319 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.
What is on the National Register in Derry Township?
Three places: the Old Hoopes School (listed 1978), the Old Stone Arch Bridge (1979) and the Lewistown Armory (1991).
How old are the homes in Derry Township?
21% of Derry Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1962.
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 (3), 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.