More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #811 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Frankstown Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1902 on and old-book passages.
The Frankstown Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Frankstown (1820), Canoe Creek (1858) and Horrell (1903), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 7,399206 years
How historic is Frankstown Township?
C+
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Frankstown Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Frankstown Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Frankstown Township is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #811 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Frankstown 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 Frankstown 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). 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 Frankstown 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 Frankstown Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Hollidaysburg 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 Frankstown Township.
The story so far
Frankstown Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Frankstown Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Frankstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. The CDP is in central Blair County, on the west side of Frankstown Township. It is bordered to the southeast by U.S. Route 22, which leads southwest 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to Hollidaysburg and east 25 miles (40 km) to Huntingdon. The community and surrounding township give their name to the Frankstown Branch Juniata River, which passes the CDP just south of US-22.
Its first post office opened in 1820. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 7,381 in 2010, 7,399 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Frankstown Township in 1911
Passages that mention Frankstown Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania1911 · page 744Read the page →
Read the text
Blair A. Brua attended the public schools in Frankstown Township and spent one term in the High School at Frankstown, since which time he has devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. At one time he owned three farms in Frankstown Township, aggregating 280 acres, but he has sold two of these to his sons and now operates but seventy acres. He has
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania1911 · page 964Read the page →
Read the text
Ireland and first settled in the Kiskaquilla Valley, in Pennsylvania, and from there came to Blair County, where he owned a farm in Scotch Valley, Frankstown Township. He was a man of affluence and the owner of four or five farms in Blair County. He came from Frankstown Township to Logan Township and obtained a patent to 200 acres of land, which has ever
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
Frankstown Township, 1820 to 1930
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Frankstown Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Frankstown Township rank for history?
Frankstown Township is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #811 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 Frankstown Township?
7% of Frankstown Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
