On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Heidelberg Township is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #919 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Heidelberg 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 Heidelberg 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 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 Heidelberg Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost half of its people between 1870 and 1880, then grew 3-fold.
15 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Heidelberg Township’s Wikipedia page.
The story so far
Heidelberg Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Heidelberg Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Heidelberg Township is a township in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township was erected in 1750 and encompassed the land grant known as Digges' Choice, a warrant granted to John Digges in 1727 by the colonial-era Province of Maryland, prior to the time the Mason–Dixon line fixed the final boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania. The population of Heidelberg Township was 3,028 at the 2020 census. The township consisted of 9,030 acres and extended as far west as the borough (town) of McSherrystown. The township included the borough (town) of Hanover until Hanover was made a borough in 1815. When Adams County was formed from western York County in 1800, the portion of Heidel…
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,078 in 2010, 3,031 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Heidelberg Township in 1886
Passages that mention Heidelberg Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of York County Pennsylvania From the Earliest Time to the Present1886 · page 578Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Hanover formed a part of Heidelberg Township from the time it was first laid out until 1815. On the 4th of March, of that year, it was chartered as a borough by the legislature. The first election was held at the house of Jacob Eichelberger, on Frederick Street, and resulted in the selection of George Nace, as burgess;
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of York County, Pennsylvania1886 · page 578Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Hanover formed a part of Heidelberg Township from the time it was first laid out until 1815. On the 4th of March, of that year, it was chartered as a borough by the legislature. The first election was held at the house of Jacob Eichelberger, on Frederick Street, and resulted in the selection of George Nace, as burgess;
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of York County, Pennsylvania1886 · page 587Read the page →
Read the text
neat, plain and comfortable Mennonite Church, which, was built in 1881, at a cost of $2,500. It is connected with Bair's Meeting House in Heidelberg Township, and Hostetter's Meeting House in Adams County, all the members who worship in three houses mentioned, form a congregation of about iOO' families. Samuel Myers, Martin Whistler
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Heidelberg Township, 1853 to 2010
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Heidelberg Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1920Hanover 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 Heidelberg Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Heidelberg Township
Nobody well known was born in Heidelberg Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Heidelberg Township is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #919 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 Heidelberg Township?
13% of Heidelberg 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 1978.
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), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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