More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #1,017 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Harborcreek Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1913 on.
From Harborcreek Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Harborcreek Township began
When was Harborcreek Township founded?
1924
The Harborcreek Township post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Wells Corners (1850) and Moorheadville (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 16,635102 years
How historic is Harborcreek Township?
C−
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Harborcreek Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Harborcreek Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Harborcreek Township is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #1,017 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Harborcreek 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 Harborcreek 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 D to C. 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 Harborcreek 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
Harborcreek Township on the map, 1913 to 1996
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Harborcreek Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1913North East 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 Harborcreek Township.
The story so far
Harborcreek Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Harborcreek Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Harborcreek is an unincorporated community in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located along U.S. Route 20, 7.2 miles (11.6 km) east-northeast of Erie. Harborcreek has a post office with ZIP code 16421.
Its first post office opened in 1924. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 17,234 to 16,635 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Harborcreek Township, 1850 to 1928
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Harborcreek Township post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Harborcreek Township rank for history?
Harborcreek Township is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #1,017 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 Harborcreek Township?
9% of Harborcreek 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 1974.
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 Library of Congress (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
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