East Goshen Township dates to 1817, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #558 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 11 buildings. Most of East Goshen Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1930.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives East Goshen Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, East Goshen Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #558 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of East Goshen 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 Goshen Township’s 8.7 sits above most of its state (75% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1817.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Goshen 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 and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Goshenville
1828–1900
Milltown
1849–1899
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Ashbridge FarmsBow TreeClock Tower WoodsCommons at GoshenDutton MillDutts MillGoshenvilleGrand Oak RunHershey MillHunt CountryMarydell FarmsMilltownPin Oak FarmsRockland Village I and IIRocky HillWhite ChimneysWyllpen Farms
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside East Goshen Township
Goshen BaptistGoshen Friends
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start East Goshen Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how East Goshen Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The ten square miles of land that is now the township of East Goshen was part of a larger tract purchased from William Penn in Wales in September 1681. Settlers, finding the land beautiful and productive, named the area Goshenville, or "the Land of Goshen."
The blacksmith shop located on North Chester Road was built in 1699. It was here in the early years that wagon wheels were re-rimmed, farm implements repaired, and horses shod. As part of East Goshen's tricentennial in 1982, the blacksmith shop was renovated and restored.
East Goshen Township was incorporated in 1817 when Goshen was divided, forming East and West Goshen townships.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of East Goshen Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954West Chester sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of East Goshen Township.
On the National Register
3 listings protect 16 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1817, according to Wikidata. East Goshen Township’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1930 counted 739 people here.
How does East Goshen Township rank for history?
East Goshen Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #558 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 Goshen Township?
Three places: the Goodwin Acres (listed 1980), the Goshenville Historic District (2000) and the Ellis Williams House (2004).
How old are the homes in East Goshen Township?
3% of East Goshen Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
