Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.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 89% of U.S. towns, #188 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Foster 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 Foster Township’s 154 sits above most of its state (90% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 53 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1824.
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 (±6.4 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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Foster Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Wilkes-Barre 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 Foster Township.
Modern-day Foster Township was first settled in 1824 by John Lines. In 1855, territory was taken from Dennison Township to create a new municipality in Luzerne County; the new territory was incorporated as a township in 1855. It is named after Asa L. Foster. At the time, coal mining and logging were the two major industries in Foster Township.
Before the 1850s, Eckley was not a mining town, but a rural, forested community called Shingletown. It was located on land owned by Tench Coxe. The inhabitants took advantage of the surrounding woodlands and made shingles to be sold in White Haven and Hazleton. These goods were traded for the necessities of life, such as whiskey, port, and tobacco.
Passages that mention Foster Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania1909 · page 156Read the page →
Read the text
Jeddo — The village of Jeddo had its beginning in the mining operations of the-Markle brothers of Hazleton. It was incorporated as a borough on October 23, 1871, its territory being taken partly from Hazle Township and partly from Foster Township. To what extent it functioned separately from those townships for some years is not known ; its municipal affairs were apparently in disorder for some time, as Bradsby, in his "History of Luzerne County" (1892) makes the following reference to Jeddo, on page 582: "Jeddo was authorized to form a borough in 1871, but has neglected to perfect any of the
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
Foster Township, 1824 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1824, according to Wikidata. Foster Township’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 2000 counted 3,323 people here.
How does Foster Township rank for history?
Foster Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #188 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 Eckley Historic District (listed 1971).
How old are the homes in Foster Township?
19% of Foster Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (7), 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), 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.
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