On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Germany Township is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #860 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 Germany 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 Germany 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 (±5.3 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 Germany Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Germany Township
Saint AloysiusSaint John's Lutheran
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Germany Township on the map, 1911 to 1953
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Germany Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1911Taneytown 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 Germany Township.
The story so far
Germany Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Germany Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Germany Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,845 at the 2020 census. The majority of early settlers were from Germany and Great Britain.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,700 to 2,844 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Germany Township in 1886
Passages that mention Germany Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
history of adams county pennsylvania.1886 · page 430Read the page →
Read the text
building of the Littlestown Railroad he was among the most active, aiding by means, some $1,500, and influence, in bringing it to a successful completion. Soon after his marriage he engaged in merchandising for nine years at Arendtstown and three years at New Chester. He then bought a farm in Germany Township, and his interests, principally, from that time were there and in Littlestown Borough up to his death. During the last seven years of his life he was engaged in merchandising in Littlestown, in partnership with his son, Ephraim. In 1807 he was taken sick with dropsy in the breast, and though cured of the disease, dicd in 1808 from apoplexy, leaving an estate worth $20,000. ~ >
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
Germany Township, 1872 to 1942
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Germany Township is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #860 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 Germany Township?
17% of Germany Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1983.
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, 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.
