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BHistory
History · Elder Township

35% of Elder Township’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper.

0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elder Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Elder Township’s history

How historic is Elder Township?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Elder Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elder Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elder Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194035.0% of homes (±6.2) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder

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 Elder Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±6.2 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 Elder 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Elder Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Elder Township’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elder Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elder Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSeldomSeenMine: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Saint Bonifacius
1869–1956
Swedetown
1923–1931
Saint Boniface
1956–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint BonifaceSlickportSwedetown
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Elder Township
Saint BernardSaint BonifaceUnion - Salem

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Elder Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Elder Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Elder Township is a township in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, about 24 miles (39 km) northwest of Altoona. As of the 2010 census, the township had a population of 1,038. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,038 in 2010, 1,028 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Elder Township, 1869 to 1956

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Saint Bonifacius post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1923Post officeThe Swedetown post office opens
  5. 1931Post officeThe Swedetown post office closes
  6. 1956Post officeThe Saint Bonifacius post office closes
  7. 1956Post officeThe Saint Boniface post office opens
By decade

Elder Township, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
SeldomSeenMineDate?SeldomSeenMine
Today5 recent
PA 36 sb in St. Boniface (2), Aug. 20242024PA 36 sb in St. Boniface (2), Aug. 2024PA 36 sb in St. Boniface (1), Aug. 20242024PA 36 sb in St. Boniface (1), Aug. 2024PA 36 sb entering Patton Borough, Aug. 20242024PA 36 sb entering Patton Borough, Aug. 2024PA 36 sb entering Elder Twp., Cambria Co., Aug. 20242024PA 36 sb entering Elder Twp., Cambria Co., Aug. 2024Elder Twp., Cambria Co., PA municipal building, Aug. 20242024Elder Twp., Cambria Co., PA municipal building, Aug. …
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

SeldomSeenMine
Retake this viewSeldomSeenMine

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Elder Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Elder Township

Nobody well known was born in Elder Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
R
Rembert WeaklandAmerican archbishop · b. 1927
Marvin L. EschAmerican politician · b. 1927
Edgar M. CortrightSenior NASA official-administrator and engineer… · b. 1923
Boyd WagnerUnited States Army Air Forces flying ace · b. 1916
F
Fern MichaelsAmerican writer · b. 1933
R
Ron KostelnikAmerican football player · b. 1940
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Chest TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHastingsIts storyB−Patton1 historic placeA+Susquehanna TownshipIts storyBEast Carroll TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Elder Township’s history

How does Elder Township rank for history?

Elder Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Elder Township?

35% of Elder Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1958.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 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.