The story
Read it all →How Foster Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Foster Township.
The Crook Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
AHistory
History · Foster Township
Foster Township dates to 1793, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #187 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: maps from 1924 on and the census since 2000.
1793founded
1on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Foster Township began
When was Foster Township founded?
1793
Foster Township dates its founding to 1793 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 2000.
First census: 4,566 in 20002020 census: 4,038233 years
How historic is Foster Township?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1877.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Foster Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Foster Township is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #187 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Foster Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1793, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194031.1% of homes (±8.2) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 7.6 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 90%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 82%
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 Foster Township’s 7.6 sits above most of its state (73% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1793.
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 (±8.2 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 Foster Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages6 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Foster Township, and 13 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Foster Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Foster Township’s homes were built before 1952.Deep rootsEstablished in 1793: 233 years of Foster Township.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Derrick City
Sawyer City
Tuna Creek
Dallas City
Foster Brock
Rew
Red Rock
Bells Camp
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BeechwoodBells CampCorwins CornersDallas CityDerrick CityFairview HeightsFoster BrookGilmoreMiddletownRed RockRewSawyer CityTuna
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Foster Township
Bolivar RunSawyerTefares Israel Congregation and
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Foster Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Foster Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Foster Township, 1793 to 1924
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1793FoundingFoster Township is established
- 19th century
- 1877Post officeThe Derrick City post office opens
- 1877Post officeThe Sawyer City post office opens
- 1877Post officeThe Tuna Creek post office opens
- 20th century
- 1910Post officeThe Sawyer City post office closes
- 1915Post officeThe Tuna Creek post office closes
- 1924
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Foster Township, decade by decade
2020
2018
2018
2018
2013
2011
2008
2003On the map
Foster Township on the map, 1924 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Foster Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1924Bradford sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Foster Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Foster Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Crook Farm
Districts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Foster Township, census by census
Between 4,038 and 4,566 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Foster Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Foster Township
Nobody well known was born in Foster Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Foster Township’s history
What year was Foster Township founded?
In 1793, according to Wikidata. Foster Township’s post office opened in 1877, and the census of 2000 counted 4,566 people here.
How does Foster Township rank for history?
Foster Township is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #187 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.
What is on the National Register in Foster Township?
One place: the Crook Farm (listed 1976).
How old are the homes in Foster Township?
31% of Foster Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1952.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.