Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Forward Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B−History
History · Forward Township

Forward Township dates to 1869, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #716 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1870.

1869founded
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Forward Township began

When was Forward Township founded?

1869

Forward Township dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 1,300 in 18702020 census: 3,070157 years

How historic is Forward Township?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1864.
History grade

What drives Forward Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forward Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #716 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Forward Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1869, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194037.4% of homes (±14.5) · 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 52%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 31%

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 Forward 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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1869.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±14.5 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 Forward 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 Forward Township, and 9 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Forward Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19027 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1993. Watch Forward Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,932 in 1920; 3,068 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Sunny Side
1864–1955
Elkhorn
1875–1917
Bunola
1888–today
Manown
1890–1925
Gallatin
1905–1955
East Monongahela
1925–1955
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BunolaEast MonongahelaElkhornGallatinHilldaleManownRiver HillSunny SideWallace
Gone or out of use
Aldrich Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Forward Township
Pangburn FamilyTaylor

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

Help out

Start Forward Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forward 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

Forward Township on the map, 1902 to 1993

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

Forward Township on the 1902 USGS mapForward Township on the 1931 USGS mapForward Township on the 1940 USGS mapForward Township on the 1954 USGS mapForward Township on the 1969 USGS mapForward Township on the 1979 USGS mapForward Township on the 1993 USGS map1902Brownsville 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 Forward Township.

The story so far

Forward Township, in brief

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

Forward Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,068 at the 2020 census. The township is named after Walter Forward, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1841 to 1843.

Forward Township was established in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,376 to 3,070 (-9%).

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

Timeline

Forward Township, 1864 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864Post officeThe Sunny Side post office opens
  3. 1869
    FoundingForward Township is established
  4. 1875Post officeThe Elkhorn post office opens
  5. 1888Post officeThe Bunola post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1917Post officeThe Elkhorn post office closes
  9. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 4,932
  10. 1932Born hereRon Necciai is born here
  11. 1955Post officeThe Sunny Side post office closes
By decade

Forward Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
PA 136 wb in Forward Twp., May 20242024PA 136 wb in Forward Twp., May 2024PA 136 wb approaching PA 906, May 20242024PA 136 wb approaching PA 906, May 2024Allegheny County High Point2016Allegheny County High PointMunicipal Offices, Forward Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania2015Municipal Offices, Forward Township, Allegheny County…Map of Allegheny County PA Highlighting2007Map of Allegheny County PA HighlightingMap
People over time

Forward Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,932

Peaked at 4,932 in 1920; 3,068 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Elizabeth Township2 historic placesA−ElizabethIts storyA−Union Township2 historic placesBBunolaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMonongahela4 historic placesA+Carroll TownshipIts storyC+Jefferson Hills2 historic placesBNew EagleIts storyB−Rostraver TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Forward Township’s history

What year was Forward Township founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata. Forward Township’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1870 counted 1,300 people here.

How does Forward Township rank for history?

Forward Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #716 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 Forward Township?

37% of Forward Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±14.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1949.

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 (5), 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.