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BHistory
History · Folcroft

Folcroft dates to 1725

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns · #630 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Most of Folcroft was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1960. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1930.

1725founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Folcroft began

When was Folcroft founded?

1725

Folcroft dates its founding to 1725 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 1,432 in 19302020 census: 6,792301 years

How historic is Folcroft?

B

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1893.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Folcroft’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Folcroft is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #630 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Folcroft’s overall grade.
Founding era1725, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19408.3% of homes (±4.0) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National 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 57%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 39%

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 Folcroft’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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1725.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points).

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 Folcroft’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Folcroft are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18946 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1994. Watch Folcroft change.Boom and bustPeaked at 9,610 in 1970; 6,792 people lived here in 2020.Older than the countryEstablished in 1725, 51 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Folcroft’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Folcroft’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

Folcroft on the map, 1894 to 1994

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

Folcroft on the 1894 USGS mapFolcroft on the 1942 USGS mapFolcroft on the 1956 USGS mapFolcroft on the 1967 USGS mapFolcroft on the 1973 USGS mapFolcroft on the 1994 USGS map1894Chester 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 Folcroft.

People over time

Folcroft, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00019401960198020002020Peak: 9,610

Peaked at 9,610 in 1970; 6,792 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Folcroft’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Folcroft came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Folcroft.

Read it all →

The origin of Folcroft can be traced back to the mid 1600s and early settlements of New Sweden. Delmar Drive was once part of Calcon Hook Road. Calcon is the Swedish word for "turkey", and Hook is the Swedish word for "road". The original road was a Leni Lenape trail called "Turkey's Neck Trail" by the settlers, and was no more than 4 feet (1.2 m) wide.

Originally productive farmlands, it became a residential suburb of Philadelphia with the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad through the area in 1874. A passenger stop was built and named Folcroft, or "leafy fields". Originally part of Darby Township, Folcroft was incorporated as a borough in 1922.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Folcroft, 1725 to 1970

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1725
    FoundingFolcroft is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1893Post officeThe Folcroft post office opens
  5. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1933Born hereWalter Kaiser, Jr. is born here
  8. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 9,610
By decade

Folcroft, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Former Folcroft, PA borough hall, Nov. 20252025Former Folcroft, PA borough hall, Nov. 2025Folcroft, PA Public Library, Nov. 20252025Folcroft, PA Public Library, Nov. 2025Folcroft, PA Municipal Complex (2), Dec. 20252025Folcroft, PA Municipal Complex (2), Dec. 2025Folcroft, PA Municipal Complex (1), Dec. 20252025Folcroft, PA Municipal Complex (1), Dec. 2025Folcroft, PA Fire Company, Nov. 20252025Folcroft, PA Fire Company, Nov. 2025Folcroft, PA Community Center, Dec. 20252025Folcroft, PA Community Center, Dec. 2025Folcroft DelCo PA Public Library2017Folcroft DelCo PA Public LibraryFolcroft, Delaware County, Pennsylvania2007Folcroft, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Places that used to be

Old corners

Folcroft’s post office has been open since 1893.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Oak Lane

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Norwood1 historic placeA−Philadelphia615 historic placesA+GlenoldenIts storyC+Tinicum Township2 historic placesADarby TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSharon HillIts storyB−

Questions about Folcroft’s history

What year was Folcroft founded?

In 1725, according to Wikidata. Folcroft’s post office opened in 1893, and the census of 1930 counted 1,432 people here.

How does Folcroft rank for history?

Folcroft is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #630 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.

How old are the homes in Folcroft?

8% of Folcroft’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1960.

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 (8), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.