The story
Read it all →How Hempfield Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Hempfield Township.
The Quaker Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
BHistory
History · Hempfield Township
2 of Hempfield Township’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #610 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Quaker Bridge and the Alexander P. and James S. Waugh House. Most of Hempfield Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listings are the Quaker Bridge and the Alexander P. and James S. Waugh House. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 2000.
2on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Hempfield Township’s history
How historic is Hempfield Township?
B
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Hempfield Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hempfield Township is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #610 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hempfield Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19409.9% of homes (±5.1) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 5.4 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 41%
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 Hempfield Township’s 5.4 sits above most of its state (69% 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 (±5.1 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 Hempfield 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 Hempfield Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hempfield Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Hempfield Township on the map, 1908 to 1970
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hempfield Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Shenango 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 Hempfield Township.
By decade
Hempfield Township, decade by decade
2024
2024
2024
2019
2014On the National Register
2 historic places in Hempfield 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
1988
Quaker Bridge
BuildingsStructures
Architectural styles listings
Federal1
Adams1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Hempfield Township, census by census
Between 3,732 and 4,004 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hempfield Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Hempfield Township
Nobody well known was born in Hempfield Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Henlein
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hempfield Township
BiglerOld Saint GloryShenango Valley
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Hempfield Township’s history
How does Hempfield Township rank for history?
Hempfield Township is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #610 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.
What is on the National Register in Hempfield Township?
Two places: the Quaker Bridge (listed 1988) and the Alexander P. and James S. Waugh House (1998).
How old are the homes in Hempfield Township?
10% of Hempfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.