The story
Read it all →How Hartley Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Hartley Township.
The Millmont Red Bridge and Halfway Lake Dam are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
AHistory
History · Hartley Township
25% of Hartley Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Millmont Red Bridge and the Halfway Lake Dam. Below: maps from 1941 on.
2on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Hartley Township’s history
How historic is Hartley Township?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Hartley Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hartley Township is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hartley Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194025.4% of homes (±5.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 11.8 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 87%
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 Hartley Township’s 11.8 sits above most of its state (78% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 Hartley Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Hartley Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hartley Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Laurelton
Weikert
Cherry Run
Gleniron
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Camp HironimusCherry RunGlen IronLaurel ParkLaureltonPardeeWeikert
Gone or out of use
CCC CamplocaleVoneida State Forest Parkpark
1cemetery inside Hartley Township
Hartleton
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Hartley Township, 1856 to 1941
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Hartley Township, decade by decade
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2008On the map
Hartley Township on the map, 1941 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hartley Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1941Millheim sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hartley Township.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Hartley 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
1980
Millmont Red Bridge
Structures
Architectural styles listings
Burr Truss1
Rustic1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Hartley Township
Nobody well known was born in Hartley Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Hartley Township’s history
How does Hartley Township rank for history?
Hartley Township is more historic than 87% 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 Hartley Township?
Two places: the Millmont Red Bridge (listed 1980) and the Halfway Lake Dam (1987).
How old are the homes in Hartley Township?
25% of Hartley 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 1967.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.