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History · Howard Township

Howard Township dates to 1770

Most of Howard Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1870.

1770founded
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Howard Township began

When was Howard Township founded?

1770

Howard Township dates its founding to 1770 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 334 in 18702020 census: 875256 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1859.

What stands out about Howard 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.Older than the countryEstablished in 1770, 6 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 19214 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1973. Watch Howard Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Howard Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Howard Township, 1770 to 1921

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1770
    FoundingHoward Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1859Post officeThe Mountain Eagle post office opens
  5. 1874In the archiveAtlas of Centre County, Pennsylvania
  6. 20th century
  7. 1907Post officeThe Mountain Eagle post office closes
  8. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Howard Township on the map, 1921 to 1973

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

Howard Township on the 1921 USGS mapHoward Township on the 1944 USGS mapHoward Township on the 1967 USGS mapHoward Township on the 1973 USGS map1921Howard 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 Howard Township.

The story so far

Howard Township, in brief

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

Howard is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 687 at the 2020 census.

Howard Township was established in 1770. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 964 to 875 (-9%).

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

By decade

Howard Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Atlas of Centre County, Pennsylvania1874Atlas of Centre County, PennsylvaniaMap
Today11 recent
Howard, Pennsylvania2013Howard, PennsylvaniaHoward, Pennsylvania2013Howard, PennsylvaniaHoward, Pennsylvania2013Howard, PennsylvaniaHoward, Pennsylvania2013Howard, PennsylvaniaHoward, Pennsylvania2013Howard, PennsylvaniaHoward, Pennsylvania2013Howard, PennsylvaniaHoward, Pennsylvania2013Howard, PennsylvaniaHoward, Pennsylvania2013Howard, PennsylvaniaHoward, Pennsylvania2013Howard, PennsylvaniaHoward, Pennsylvania2013Howard, PennsylvaniaHoward, Pennsylvania2013Howard, Pennsylvania
People over time

Howard Township, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 838

Between 334 and 838 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Mountain Eagle, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Mount Eagle
Gone or out of use
Pleasant View Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Howard Township
Sand HillSchencksWilliam Packer Family

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.

Marion TownshipIts storyC−Curtin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLiberty Township1 historic placeA−Boggs Township3 historic placesA−

Questions about Howard Township’s history

What year was Howard Township founded?

In 1770, according to Wikidata. Howard Township’s post office opened in 1859, and the census of 1870 counted 334 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), 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.