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AHistory
History · Hamiltonban Township

Hamiltonban Township dates to 1741, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Fairfield Inn and the Jacks Mountain Covered Bridge. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 2000.

1741founded
2on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hamiltonban Township began

When was Hamiltonban Township founded?

1741

Hamiltonban Township dates its founding to 1741 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 2,216 in 20002020 census: 2,300285 years

How historic is Hamiltonban Township?

A

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1842.
History grade

What drives Hamiltonban Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hamiltonban Township is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hamiltonban Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1741, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194025.4% of homes (±6.0) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 8.3 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 93%
NewerOlder

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 Hamiltonban Township’s 8.3 sits above most of its state (74% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1741.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Hamiltonban Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Hamiltonban Township, and 11 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hamiltonban Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19096 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1990. Watch Hamiltonban Township change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1741, 35 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fountain Dale
1842–1910
Iron Springs
1892–1964
Jacks Mountain
1892–1928
Orrtanna
1892–today
Virginia Mills
1892–1917
Greenstone
1916–1983
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Fountain DaleGladhillIron SpringsJacks MountainMaria FurnaceMarshallMount HopeOrrtannaRamTartownVirginia Mills
Gone or out of use
Funkhouser MilllocaleMuddy Run AirportairportRoth Private Airstripairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hamiltonban Township
Fairfield UnionMount Hope United Methodist ChurchSaint Mary's and Saint Rita's Catholic

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Hamiltonban Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hamiltonban Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Hamiltonban Township on the map, 1909 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hamiltonban Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Hamiltonban Township on the 1909 USGS mapHamiltonban Township on the 1944 USGS mapHamiltonban Township on the 1953 USGS mapHamiltonban Township on the 1968 USGS mapHamiltonban Township on the 1973 USGS mapHamiltonban Township on the 1990 USGS map1909Fairfield 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 Hamiltonban Township.

The story so far

Hamiltonban Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hamiltonban Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hamiltonban Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,296 at the 2020 census. The township is named after Hamiltonsbawn in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

Hamiltonban Township was established in 1741. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,372 to 2,300 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Hamiltonban Township, 1741 to 1964

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1741
    FoundingHamiltonban Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1842Post officeThe Fountain Dale post office opens
  5. 1892Post officeThe Iron Springs post office opens
  6. 1892Post officeThe Jacks Mountain post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1910Post officeThe Fountain Dale post office closes
  10. 1928Post officeThe Jacks Mountain post office closes
  11. 1964Post officeThe Iron Springs post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the National Register

2 historic places in Hamiltonban Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Fairfield Inn
Fairfield InnJacks Mountain Covered Bridge
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Burr Truss1
Fairfield InnVictorian
Jacks Mountain Covered BridgeBurr Truss

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Hamiltonban Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50020002020Peak: 2,372

Between 2,216 and 2,372 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hamiltonban Township’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Franklin TownshipIts storyBLiberty TownshipIts storyC+Carroll ValleyIts storyD−OrrtannaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHighland Township1 historic placeA−Quincy TownshipIts storyBGuilford Township3 historic placesB

Questions about Hamiltonban Township’s history

What year was Hamiltonban Township founded?

In 1741, according to Wikidata. Hamiltonban Township’s post office opened in 1842, and the census of 2000 counted 2,216 people here.

How does Hamiltonban Township rank for history?

Hamiltonban Township is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. 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 Hamiltonban Township?

Two places: the Fairfield Inn (listed 1973) and the Jacks Mountain Covered Bridge (1980).

How old are the homes in Hamiltonban Township?

25% of Hamiltonban Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1969.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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 National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.