Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Hegins Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B−History
History · Hegins Township

Hegins Township’s post office opened in 1858, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #751 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: maps from 1892 on.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Hegins Township began

When was Hegins Township founded?

1858

The Hegins Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Fountain (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 3,337168 years

How historic is Hegins Township?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Hegins Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Hegins Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hegins Township is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #751 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hegins Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1858, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194031.7% of homes (±8.4) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 49%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 27%

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 Hegins 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 C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.4 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 Hegins Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hegins Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1977. Watch Hegins Township change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Hegins Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Hegins Township’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hegins Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hegins 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

Hegins Township on the map, 1892 to 1977

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

Hegins Township on the 1892 USGS mapHegins Township on the 1947 USGS mapHegins Township on the 1955 USGS mapHegins Township on the 1969 USGS mapHegins Township on the 1977 USGS map1892Lykens 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 Hegins Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Fountain, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hegins
1858–today
Fountain
1872–1905
Valley View
1872–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FountainHeginsLambertonValley View

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

The story so far

Hegins Township, in brief

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

Hegins (pronounced Higgins) is a census-designated place located in Hegins Township, Schuylkill County in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located near the community of Valley View at the intersection of Pennsylvania Routes 25 and 125 and is approximately 50 miles northeast of Harrisburg. As of the 2020 census the population was 798 residents.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,516 to 3,337 (-5%).

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

Timeline

Hegins Township, 1858 to 1905

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Hegins post office opens
  3. 1872Post officeThe Fountain post office opens
  4. 1872Post officeThe Valley View post office opens
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1905Post officeThe Fountain post office closes
By decade

Hegins Township, decade by decade

Today26 recent
Warren Stutzman Memorial Field, Hegins, PA, July 20252025Warren Stutzman Memorial Field, Hegins, PA, July 2025Tri-Valley Public Library, Hegins, PA, June 20252025Tri-Valley Public Library, Hegins, PA, June 2025St. John's United Methodist Church, Hegins, PA, June 20252025St. John's United Methodist Church, Hegins, PA, June …PA 25 wb, village of Hegins, June 20252025PA 25 wb, village of Hegins, June 2025PA 125 nb entering village of Hegins, June 20252025PA 125 nb entering village of Hegins, June 2025PA 125 nb at PA 25, June 20252025PA 125 nb at PA 25, June 2025PA 125 nb approaching PA 25, June 20252025PA 125 nb approaching PA 25, June 2025Tri-Valley Public Library2015Tri-Valley Public LibraryMain St in Hegins PA 032015Main St in Hegins PA 03Main St in Hegins PA 022015Main St in Hegins PA 02Main St in Hegins PA 012015Main St in Hegins PA 01Hegins Fire Co, Hegins PA 022015Hegins Fire Co, Hegins PA 02Hegins Fire Co, Hegins PA 012015Hegins Fire Co, Hegins PA 01Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hegins PA 042015Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hegins PA 04Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hegins PA 032015Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hegins PA 03Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hegins PA 022015Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hegins PA 02Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hegins PA 012015Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hegins PA 01Friedens Cemetery, Hegins PA 032015Friedens Cemetery, Hegins PA 03Friedens Cemetery, Hegins PA 022015Friedens Cemetery, Hegins PA 02Friedens Cemetery, Hegins PA 012015Friedens Cemetery, Hegins PA 01Fire Co2015Fire CoChestnut St, Hegins PA 012015Chestnut St, Hegins PA 01Pennsylvania State Route 252011Pennsylvania State Route 25Pennsylvania State Route 252011Pennsylvania State Route 25Pennsylvania State Route 1252011Pennsylvania State Route 125Pennsylvania State Route 1252011Pennsylvania State Route 125
Famous people

Famous people close to Hegins Township

Nobody well known was born in Hegins Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Les BrownAmerican bandleader · b. 1912
Arthur Byron CobleAmerican mathematician · b. 1878
G
Gary CollinsAmerican football player · b. 1940
Ralph Waldo Emerson DongesAmerican judge · b. 1875
T
Thomas LewisMiner and president of the United Mine Workers … · b. 1866
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hubley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEldred TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFrailey TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPorter TownshipIts storyB+Upper Mahantongo TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBarry TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWilliams TownshipIts storyB+Foster TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hegins Township’s history

What year was Hegins Township founded?

The Hegins Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hegins Township rank for history?

Hegins Township is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #751 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 Hegins Township?

32% of Hegins Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1961.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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 (26), 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.