Franconia Township’s post office opened in 1828, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #556 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Franconia Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Its Register listings are the Klein Meetinghouse and the Bridge in Franconia Township. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1888 on.
From Franconia Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Franconia Township began
When was Franconia Township founded?
1828
The Franconia Township post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Franconia (1828) and Elroy (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 13,259198 years
How historic is Franconia Township?
B
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Franconia Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Franconia Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Franconia Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #556 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Franconia 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 Franconia Township’s 1.5 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. 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 Franconia Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Franconia
1828–1963
Earlington
1888–today
Morwood
1888–today
Elroy
1890–1958
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BanburyBanbury CrossingCambridge ReserveDerstine EstatesEarlingtonElroyForrest ViewFranconiaFranconia HuntHidden Springs Mobile Home ParkHunters GreeneKingscoteLions Gate IIMorwoodPear Tree VillageReliance
Gone or out of use
Souderton Airportairport
10cemeteries and burying grounds inside Franconia Township
Christ Reformed Church of Indian CreekDelpsFranconia Mennonite ChurchHarleyImmanuel Leidy's ChurchIndian Creek MennoniteLittle Zion LutheranLiving Faith FellowshipSaint Paul's Lutheran ChurchZion Memorial Gardens
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Franconia Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Franconia Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Franconia Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Quakertown 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 Franconia Township.
The story so far
Franconia Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Franconia Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Franconia is an unincorporated community in Franconia Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Franconia is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 113 and Allentown Road. Franconia opened its first Elementary School in December 1941. Franconia Elementary celebrated its 75th anniversary on October 6, 2016, with alumni returning to share the event with current students. A time capsule, containing memories of past students, was also opened, The village is named after Franconia, the English (and Latin) term for Franken, a region in Germany.
Its first post office opened in 1828. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 13,064 in 2010, 13,259 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Franconia Township, 1828 to 1963
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Franconia Township post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Franconia Township rank for history?
Franconia Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #556 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 Franconia Township?
Two places: the Klein Meetinghouse (listed 1973) and the Bridge in Franconia Township (1988).
How old are the homes in Franconia Township?
8% of Franconia Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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