Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1827.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hepburn Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hepburn Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #742 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hepburn 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 Hepburn 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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1784.
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 (±5.0 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Hepburn Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hepburn Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1921Trout Run 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 Hepburn Township.
Hepburn Township was formed from part of Loyalsock Township in 1804. It is named for William Hepburn, a former state senator and one of the founding fathers of Lycoming County and Williamsport, the county's largest city. Hepburn Township was originally much larger in size than it is today. Lewis, Gamble, Eldred, and Cascade townships all are formed from territory that was once part of Hepburn Township.
Passages that mention Hepburn Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania1929 · page 228Read the page →
Read the text
Hepburn Township.—When the whites first settled in Lycoming Creek valley they found an Indian village of some pretentions located on the stream about where the Town of Hepburnville is situated. The place was called EKeltown, but this name must have been given to it by some white man either before then or afterwards, for there is no such name in the Indian language. It is frequently referred to in the early records, but nowhere is there any explanation of why it was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania1929 · page 229Read the page →
Read the text
Hepburn Township was erected in 1804 and was named in honor of William Hepburn, who had so much to do with having Lycoming established as a separate county in 1795. It is the thirty-fifth in size and has an area of 8,320 acres. Copper ore and Galena have been found at some places, but not in sufficient quantities to be of commercial value. Most of the land is rolling except in the northern part, where it is mountainous. Lycoming Creek washes its western border and Mill
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
Hepburn Township, 1784 to 1921
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1784, according to Wikidata. Hepburn Township’s post office opened in 1827.
How does Hepburn Township rank for history?
Hepburn Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #742 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 Hepburn Township?
11% of Hepburn Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1979.
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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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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