1 of Jackson Township’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #802 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Harmony Mennonite Meetinghouse and Cemetery. Most of Jackson Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jackson Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #802 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jackson 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 Jackson Township’s 1.8 sits near the middle of its state (56% 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 (±5.3 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 Jackson 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 Jackson Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Zelienople 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 Jackson Township.
European settlers began arriving along Breakneck Creek, a tributary of the Connoquenessing, circa 1800. Around the same time, present-day Zelienople and Harmony were settled. Among the first settlers in the area were James Magee (born in County Down, present-day Northern Ireland, in 1769) in the Connoquenessing Valley in 1797 and William Martin (born in Ireland) along Breakneck Creek. The Harmony Society also made its first settlement in the United States in present-day Jackson Township.
Passages that mention Jackson Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Butler County, Pennsylvania. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1883 · page 30Read the page →
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of other classes. The early German pioneers came into the county through tire influence of a few individuals. Detmar Basse came from Germany in 1802, settled in Jackson Township, an<l, in 1808, founded Zelienople, which has ever been practically a German village. George Rapp founded Harmony in 1805, bringing into the county the colony of Germans who constituted the Harnmuist ur Economite Society.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Butler County Pennsylvania1927 · page 235Read the page →
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James Magee settled in Jackson Township in 1797. William and Michael Martin, Thomas Wilson, and Detmar Basse, founder of Zelienople, settled here in 1802. George Rapp, founder of Harmony, came to this township in 1804, and founded Harmony the next year.
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History of Butler County Pennsylvania1927 · page 529Read the page →
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The first of the pioneers of Jackson Township was James Magee, a native of County Down, Ireland, who made settlement in 1797. He afterwards fought in the War of 1812, and continued to reside here until his death in 1846. William Martin, also a native of Ireland, located one mile west of the present borough of Evans City in 1797.
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
Jackson Township, 1887 to 1917
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Jackson Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #802 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.
What is on the National Register in Jackson Township?
One place: the Harmony Mennonite Meetinghouse and Cemetery (listed 2016).
How old are the homes in Jackson Township?
8% of Jackson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1999.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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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