On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairmount Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fairmount 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 Fairmount 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 (±5.4 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 Fairmount Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fairmount Township is in Pennsylvania, where humans have lived since at least 10000 BC. The first settlers in the state were Paleo-Indian nomadic hunters known from their stone tools. The hunter-gatherers of the Archaic period, which lasted locally from 7000 to 1000 BC, used a greater variety of more sophisticated stone artifacts. The Woodland period marked the gradual transition to semi-permanent villages and horticulture, between 1000 BC and 1500 AD. Archeological evidence found in the state from this time includes a range of pottery types and styles, burial mounds, pipes, bows and arrows, and ornaments.
Passages that mention Fairmount Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania1909 · page 175Read the page →
Read the text
ton Township, Luzerne County, where he was employed by Titus Seward, dealer in lands and contractor for the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. Later Mr. Coughlin settled on a farm in Fairmount Township of the same county, and in addition to agricultural pursuits acted as fireman and engineer in the saw mill industry. During the Civil War he enlisted in Company I. 143d Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, under command of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania1909 · page 114Read the page →
Read the text
Shadrach Lacock established a foundry in Fairmount Township in 1830, and there made the Lacock plow, which was so much in demand in its day. The first post office was at Fairmount Springs; it was opened in 1835, with J. C.
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.
Timeline
Fairmount Township, 1836 to 1937
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fairmount Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1934LaPorte 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 Fairmount Township.
People over time
Fairmount Township, census by census
Between 1,207 and 1,276 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fairmount Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Fairmount Township
Nobody well known was born in Fairmount Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Fairmount Township is more historic than 45% 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 Fairmount Township?
19% of Fairmount Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
