Downingtown dates to 1716, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns · #92 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 121 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1860.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Downingtown is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #92 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Downingtown’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 Downingtown’s 155 sits above most of its state (90% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 128 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1716.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Downingtown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Downingtown, building by building, 1886–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The borough was originally named Milltown due to its number of mills along the East Branch Brandywine Creek, the first of which was founded by Daniel Butter. The Butter family also had paper mills in the area, and Frederick Bicking from Winterburg, Germany, was the patriarch of the Bicking paper families. Around the time of the American Revolution, Milltown became more commonly known as Downingtown after the prominent businessman Thomas Downing, a Quaker immigrant in 1717 from Bradninch, Devon, England, who owned a number of those mills. The burough was officially named Downingtown in 1812.
Passages that mention Downingtown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches1881 · page 326Read the page →
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In August, 1808, some nine or ten years after the failure of the West Chester Gazette, a weekly paper was commenced in Downingtown by Charles Mowry, entitled the Temperate Znne. Downingtown was probably selected as the place of publication because it was a village of some note, and was located on the Philadelphia and Lancaster turnpike-road, then a thoroughfare extensively traveled, and running through the heart of the county. It was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches1881 · page 173Read the page →
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Downingtown was incorporated by decree of court May 12, 1859, and by an election held at the Swan Hotel on the 28th of that month Capt. James Lockhart was chosen first burgess. The borough limits embraced 760 acres, taken from the township of East Cain.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the Presbyterian Church in the Forks of Brandywine, Chester County, Pa. (Brandywine Manor Presbyterian Church), from A.D. 1735 to A.D. 18851885 · page 170Read the page →
Read the text
L70 HISTORY OF TIIK PUESllYTKIUAN » III 1M II utter the first settlement of Downingtown before a Presbyterian Church was organized within its limits. In 1S43 some God-fearing men. whom the activity ami business introduced bythe Pennsylvania Railroad, and the spirit of enterprise in general, had caused to settle at Downingtown. adopted measures leading to the establishment of a Presbyterian Church. Neigh-
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.
By decade
Downingtown, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1716, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1860 counted 761 people here.
How does Downingtown rank for history?
Downingtown is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #92 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 Downingtown?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Downingtown Log House (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the East Lancaster Avenue Historic District, with 121 contributing buildings. 128 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Downingtown?
21% of Downingtown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1881
1893
