On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jefferson Township is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township’s 106 sits above most of its state (89% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% 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 (±3.3 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 Jefferson Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Another post office, Bakersville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
AllenvaleBakersvilleIndiantownJimtown
Gone or out of use
Miller SchoolschoolNew Fountain SchoolschoolRidge SchoolschoolSomerset QuarrymineTemple Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Jefferson Township on the map, 1913 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jefferson Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1913Somerset 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 Jefferson Township.
Jefferson Township was organized in 1847 from a portion of Somerset Township and named for Thomas Jefferson.
Conrad Shaulis, one of the early settlers, served in the American Revolution. By 1783, 24 families farmed in the area; the earliest had arrived about six years earlier. Other early settlers included James Allen, Adam Flick, John Mason, and Nicholas Barron. A Lutheran church was built in 1849, and a German Baptist church in 1873.
The Kooser State Park Family Cabin District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
Jefferson Township is more historic than 79% 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 Jefferson Township?
One place: the Kooser State Park Family Cabin District (listed 1987).
How old are the homes in Jefferson Township?
12% of Jefferson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (7), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
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