Half of Franklin Township’s homes were built after 1994
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #993 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Franklin Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1930.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Franklin Township is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #993 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin 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 Franklin 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.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Franklin Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Franklin Township on the map, 1904 to 1997
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Franklin Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Coatesville 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 Franklin Township.
The southernmost part of the township was originally disputed territory between Pennsylvania and Maryland, resolved eventually by the Mason–Dixon line. The southernmost section of the township formed the northern section of New Munster, a large settlement tract established by Maryland and named after the southern province of Munster in Ireland. New Munster acted as an early genesis point and catalyst for large Scots-Irish settlement and expansion into Chester County and points west in Pennsylvania. The Wooleston Grist Mill, also known as Tweed's Mill or Mackey's Mill, formed part of the New Munster tract and settlement.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Franklin Township is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #993 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 Franklin Township?
7% of Franklin Township’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 1994.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (3), 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.
1905
2026
2026
2015
2015
2009
