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C+History
History · Irwin Township

Irwin Township’s post office opened in 1878, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 2000.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Irwin Township began

When was Irwin Township founded?

1878

The Irwin Township post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Wesley (1833), Irwin (1878) and Nectarine (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,309 in 20002020 census: 1,253148 years

How historic is Irwin Township?

C+

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Irwin Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Irwin Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Irwin Township is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Irwin Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1878, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194020.9% of homes (±5.7) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+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 41%
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 Irwin 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.

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 (±5.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Irwin 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 writtenNo old photos of Irwin Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Irwin Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19105 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1980. Watch Irwin Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Irwin Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Irwin 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
Places that used to be

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

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wesley
1833–1936
Irwin
1878–1883
Nectarine
1886–1902
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
NectarineWesley
Gone or out of use
Jones SchoolschoolWesley Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Irwin Township
Mount IrwinPleasantview

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Irwin Township on the map, 1910 to 1980

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

Irwin Township on the 1910 USGS mapIrwin Township on the 1944 USGS mapIrwin Township on the 1963 USGS mapIrwin Township on the 1972 USGS mapIrwin Township on the 1980 USGS map1910Hilliards 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 Irwin Township.

The story so far

Irwin Township, in brief

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

Irwin Township is a township in Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,253 at the 2020 census, a decrease from 1,319 in 2010, which represented, in turn, an increase from 1,309 as of the 2000 census.

Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,391 to 1,253 (-10%).

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

Timeline

Irwin Township, 1833 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833Post officeThe Wesley post office opens
  3. 1878Post officeThe Irwin post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Irwin post office closes
  5. 1886Post officeThe Nectarine post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902Post officeThe Nectarine post office closes
  8. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1936Post officeThe Wesley post office closes
By decade

Irwin Township, decade by decade

Today3 recent
I-80 wb in Irwin Township, Venango Co., PA, June 20242024I-80 wb in Irwin Township, Venango Co., PA, June 2024Pennsylvania State Route 82004Pennsylvania State Route 8Pennsylvania State Route 82004Pennsylvania State Route 8
People over time

Irwin Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40020002020Peak: 1,391

Between 1,253 and 1,391 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Irwin Township

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

See all →
Smokin' Joe KubekAmerican electric blues guitarist · b. 1956
J
Jimmy Del RayAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1962
Joe PageAmerican baseball player · b. 1917
Paula KellyAmerican big band singer · b. 1919
Gary PetersAmerican baseball player · b. 1937
H
Hank EvansAmerican basketball player · b. 1914
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

BarkeyvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarion TownshipIts storyB−Clinton Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMineral TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVictory TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMercer TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Irwin Township’s history

What year was Irwin Township founded?

The Irwin Township post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Irwin Township rank for history?

Irwin Township is more historic than 41% 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 Irwin Township?

21% of Irwin Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1984.

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), 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.