16% of Easttown Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #303 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Waynesborough, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 12 buildings. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1930.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Easttown Township is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #303 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Easttown 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 Easttown Township’s 12.7 sits above most of its state (79% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% 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 (±4.8 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 Easttown Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Easttown Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1894Norristown 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 Easttown Township.
The land that eventually became Easttown Township was once part of the Welsh Tract, a large expanse of land promised by William Penn to a group of Welsh Quaker settlers in which they would be able to speak and conduct business in the Welsh language. Whilst the autonomous entity envisaged by some was never formed, it left its mark in the many Welsh place names that still exist, such as the census-designated place (CDP) Berwyn in Easttown and adjacent Tredyffrin Township. The township is believed to have been incorporated in 1704 since that is the earliest date it has been found to be referred to in official records. However, a delineated community of that name appears in Thomas Holme's c. 1687 map.
Easttown Township is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #303 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 Easttown Township?
Three places: the Waynesborough (listed 1973), the Roughwood (1984) and the Waterloo Mills Historic District (1995).
How old are the homes in Easttown Township?
16% of Easttown Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 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 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.
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