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AHistory
History · Fishing Creek Township

Fishing Creek Township’s post office opened in 1820, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1894 on.

1820first post office
4on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Fishing Creek Township began

When was Fishing Creek Township founded?

1820

The Fishing Creek Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Fishing Creek (1820), Van Camp (1857) and Forks (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,523206 years

How historic is Fishing Creek Township?

A

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Fishing Creek Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Fishing Creek Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fishing Creek Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fishing Creek Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1820, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194023.8% of homes (±6.2) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register4 listings, 29.4 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 89%
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 Fishing Creek Township’s 29.4 sits above most of its state (84% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Fishing Creek Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Fishing Creek Township, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Fishing Creek Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18945 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1976. Watch Fishing Creek Township change.Deep rootsA post office since 1820: 206 years of Fishing Creek Township.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Fishing Creek
1820–1916
Van Camp
1857–1904
Forks
1858–1934
Asbury
1889–1905
Bendertown
1893–1905
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AsburyBendertownHoneytownJonestownPealertownZaner
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fishing Creek Township
JonestownSaint James United Church of ChristSavage HillZion

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

Help out

Start Fishing Creek Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Fishing Creek Township on the map, 1894 to 1976

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fishing Creek Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Fishing Creek Township on the 1894 USGS mapFishing Creek Township on the 1947 USGS mapFishing Creek Township on the 1954 USGS mapFishing Creek Township on the 1969 USGS mapFishing Creek Township on the 1976 USGS map1894Bloomsburg 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 Fishing Creek Township.

The story

How Fishing Creek Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fishing Creek Township.

Read it all →

The Josiah Hess Covered Bridge No. 122, Twin Bridges-East Paden Covered Bridge No. 120, and Twin Bridges-West Paden Covered Bridge No. 121 were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The Bridge in Fishing Creek Township was listed in 1988.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fishing Creek Township, 1820 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1820Post officeThe Fishing Creek post office opens
  3. 1821Born hereCharles R. Buckalew is born here
  4. 1857Post officeThe Van Camp post office opens
  5. 1858Post officeThe Forks post office opens
  6. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1904Post officeThe Van Camp post office closes
  9. 1916Post officeThe Fishing Creek post office closes
  10. 1934Post officeThe Forks post office closes
By decade

Fishing Creek Township, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Road sign barn, Pealertown, PA, July 20262026Road sign barn, Pealertown, PA, July 2026Fishing Creek Township, PA Municipal Building, July 20262026Fishing Creek Township, PA Municipal Building, July 2…Scenery of Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania in April2015Scenery of Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County, P…Field in Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania2015Field in Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County, Pen…Field and hill in Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania2015Field and hill in Fishing Creek Township, Columbia Co…View of Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania near New Columbus, Pennsylvania2014View of Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County, Penn…Scenery of Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania2014Scenery of Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County, P…Scenery of Fishing Creek Township from Posey Hill Road2014Scenery of Fishing Creek Township from Posey Hill RoadField and woods in Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania2014Field and woods in Fishing Creek Township, Columbia C…Flickr - Nicholas T - Restoration2010Flickr - Nicholas T - Restoration
On the National Register

4 historic places in Fishing Creek Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Josiah Hess Covered Bridge No. 122
Josiah Hess Covered Bridge No. 122Twin Bridges-East Paden Covered Bridge No. 120Twin Bridges-West Paden Covered Bridge No. 121Bridge in Fishing Creek Township
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Burr Truss-Arch1
Queen Post Design1
Burr Truss-Arch Design1
Josiah Hess Covered Bridge No. 122Burr Truss-Arch
Twin Bridges-East Paden Covered Bridge No. 120Queen Post Design
Twin Bridges-West Paden Covered Bridge No. 121Burr Truss-Arch Design
Bridge in Fishing Creek TownshipStructure

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Briar Creek TownshipIts storyC−North Centre Township1 historic placeBBenton TownshipIts storyB+Huntington Township1 historic placeA−Greenwood Township1 historic placeANew ColumbusIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOrange Township1 historic placeB

Questions about Fishing Creek Township’s history

What year was Fishing Creek Township founded?

The Fishing Creek Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Fishing Creek Township rank for history?

Fishing Creek Township is more historic than 89% 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.

What is on the National Register in Fishing Creek Township?

4 listings: 4 structures.

How old are the homes in Fishing Creek Township?

24% of Fishing Creek 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 1977.

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 (10), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.