Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Highland 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 · Highland Township

Highland Township dates to 1853, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1930.

1853founded
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Highland Township began

When was Highland Township founded?

1853

Highland Township dates its founding to 1853 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 792 in 19302020 census: 1,259173 years

How historic is Highland Township?

B−

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1834.
History grade

What drives Highland Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Highland Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. 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 Highland Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1853, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194026.6% of homes (±7.4) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National 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 46%
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 Highland 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 Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1853.
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 (±7.4 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Highland 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19046 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1973. Watch Highland Township change.Old housesHalf of Highland Township’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Highland Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Highland Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Highland Township on the map, 1904 to 1973

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

Highland Township on the 1904 USGS mapHighland Township on the 1918 USGS mapHighland Township on the 1943 USGS mapHighland Township on the 1953 USGS mapHighland Township on the 1968 USGS mapHighland Township on the 1973 USGS map1904Coatesville 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 Highland Township.

The story so far

Highland Township, in brief

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

Highland Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1853 when West Fallowfield Township was divided and the division with the higher elevation was named Highland Township. The population was 1,272 at the 2010 census.

Highland Township was established in 1853. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,272 in 2010, 1,259 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Highland Township, 1834 to 1916

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834Post officeThe Gum Tree post office opens
  3. 1853
    FoundingHighland Township is established
  4. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Chester County - Highland - ED 15-…
  5. 20th century
  6. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1916Post officeThe Gum Tree post office closes
By decade

Highland Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Chester County - Highland - ED 15-4118801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …
1890s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Large dairy barn and silo2019Large dairy barn and siloA large Amish family farmstead2019A large Amish family farmsteadA white barn2019A white barnHighland Twp building Chesco PA2015Highland Twp building Chesco PAHighland Twp Chesco PA house2015Highland Twp Chesco PA house
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Chester County - Highland - ED 15-41
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Chester County - Highland - ED 15-41, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Highland Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Highland Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40019401960198020002020Peak: 1,272

Between 792 and 1,272 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Highland Township’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Highland Township

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

See all →
Richard HamiltonAmerican basketball player · b. 1978
Johnny WeirAmerican figure skater and television commentat… · b. 1984
Zack SteffenAmerican soccer player · b. 1995
Charles MooreAmerican athlete · b. 1929
Ann PrestonAmerican physician · b. 1813
Cierra RungeAmerican swimmer · b. 1996
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

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

1cemetery inside Highland Township
Friendship United Methodist Church

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Londonderry Township3 historic placesB+East Fallowfield Township31 historic placesA−West Marlborough Township6 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townParkesburg2 historic placesAPomeroyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWest Fallowfield Township3 historic placesA−

Questions about Highland Township’s history

What year was Highland Township founded?

In 1853, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Highland Township’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1930 counted 792 people here.

How does Highland Township rank for history?

Highland Township is more historic than 46% 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.

How old are the homes in Highland Township?

27% of Highland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1962.

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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.