Halfmoon Township’s post office opened in 1817, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #352 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Halfmoon Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Its Register listings are the Elder, Abraham, Stone House and the George Wilson Homestead. Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 2000.
The Halfmoon Township post office opened in 1817, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Half Moon (1817), Walkersville (1817) and Stormstown (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,357 in 20002020 census: 2,790209 years
How historic is Halfmoon Township?
A−
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Halfmoon Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Halfmoon Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Halfmoon Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #352 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Halfmoon 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 Halfmoon Township’s 35.4 sits above most of its state (85% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 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 Halfmoon 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
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Half Moon
1817–1879
Walkersville
1817–1819
Stormstown
1879–1918
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CentennialStormstown
Gone or out of use
Centennial Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Halfmoon Township
Center Line LutheranFriendsGrays
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Halfmoon Township on the map, 1922 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Halfmoon Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1922Philipsburg 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 Halfmoon Township.
The name "Halfmoon" is thought to have come from crescent-shaped markings on tree trunks engraved by indigenous peoples marking a trail through the valley.
The first European to settle in Halfmoon was Abraham Elder in 1784, who came from Franklin County. He found an abandoned cabin and stayed there for the summer. The following fall, Elder returned to his family in Franklin County, and they returned in the spring of 1785, along with Elder's brother, David.
The Halfmoon Township post office opened in 1817, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Halfmoon Township rank for history?
Halfmoon Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #352 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 Halfmoon Township?
Two places: the Elder, Abraham, Stone House (listed 1977) and the George Wilson Homestead (1982).
How old are the homes in Halfmoon Township?
9% of Halfmoon Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
