On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Highland Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Highland 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 Highland Township’s 11.7 sits above most of its state (78% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±6.2 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 Highland 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 Highland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1909Fairfield 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 Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, which was created in 1863 from parts of Hamiltonban, Cumberland, and Franklin townships. The population was 997 at the time of the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 943 to 997 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Highland Township in 1886
Passages that mention Highland Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
history of adams county pennsylvania.1886 · page 284Read the page →
Read the text
Tho Presbyterian Church of Lower Marsh Creek is in Highland Township, five miles from Gettysburg, on the road leading to Fairfield. The present edifice is of stone, and was built in 1790, but the organization (the exact date of which cannot be ascertained) is much older. It can be traced, however, to within the limits of a decade, somewhere between 1741 and 1749. The first building stood on the banks of Marsh Creek, about two miles northeast of the present church edifice, and near the burying ground known as the ‘* Marsh Creok Grave-yard.’” Rev. Andrew Bay was the first pastor of this church.
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
Highland Township, 1850 to 1909
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Highland Township is more historic than 77% 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.
What is on the National Register in Highland Township?
One place: the Lower Marsh Creek Presbyterian Church (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Highland Township?
19% of Highland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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