Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1859.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives East Cocalico Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, East Cocalico Township is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #285 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of East Cocalico 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 East Cocalico Township’s 11.0 sits above most of its state (78% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1838.
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 (±4.7 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 East Cocalico Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Swartzville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Swartzville
1859–1930
Reamstown
1902–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
NapiersvilleReamstownSwartzvilleVera Cruz
Gone or out of use
Kurtz QuarrymineReamstown Post Officepost officeSwartzville Post Officepost office
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside East Cocalico Township
Cocalico MennoniteFaith Mennonite FellowshipHershberger FamilyMemory GardensMuddy CreekMuddy Creek Old Order MennoniteReamsSalem Union
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
East Cocalico Township on the map, 1906 to 1999
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of East Cocalico Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906New Holland 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 East Cocalico Township.
The story
How East Cocalico Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of East Cocalico Township.
East Cocalico Township is located in the northeastern part of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was established on May 8, 1838, when the original Cocalico Township was divided into East Cocalico, West Cocalico, and Ephrata Townships. Irregular in shape, East Cocalico extends approximately 5.5 miles in length and averages 3.5 miles in width.
The township is named after Cocalico Creek, a prominent waterway in the region, and a Native American village that existed in the area at the time of early European settlement. The name "Cocalico" is believed to derive from the Delaware (Lenape) phrase koch hale kung, meaning "den of serpents," likely referring to the abundance of snakes found near the creek.
In 1838, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. East Cocalico Township’s post office opened in 1859, and the census of 1900 counted 2,921 people here.
How does East Cocalico Township rank for history?
East Cocalico Township is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #285 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 East Cocalico Township?
Two places: the Butcher's Mill Covered Bridge (listed 1980) and the Bucher Thal Historic District (1987).
How old are the homes in East Cocalico Township?
15% of East Cocalico 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 1983.
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 (1), 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) 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.
