On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jenkins Township is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #787 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jenkins 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 Jenkins 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 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 (±8.4 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 Jenkins Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Isaac Gould and Joseph Gardner were the first permanent settlers in modern-day Jenkins Township. The first important settlement in the territory was Joseph Gardner's gristmill in 1794 (on Gardner's Creek). The first schoolhouse was built in the early 1810s. Jenkins Township was formed from a section of Pittston Township on June 24, 1852. It was named after Col. John Jenkins (who settled the area with his family in 1769). He served as an officer in the American Revolution (1775-1782), and as a Representative of Luzerne County in the Pennsylvania Legislature (elected in 1797).
Passages that mention Jenkins Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania1909 · page 157Read the page →
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The first settlers in Jenkins Township, in the vicinity of what became Laflin, were Isaac Gould and Joseph Gardner. The latter was operating a gristmill, on the creek which bears his name, in 1794.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania1909 · page 122Read the page →
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Jenkins Township, like Pittston, owes its development to coal. Mining is the business of its residents, in general. Its communities are composed mainly of mining men. Port Griffith was an important place in the days of the old gravity road of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. Its terminus was at Port Griffith, but it lost some of its possibility of growth when the gravity road lost its identity ; but because of the mining, the community has continued to hold its own. Port Blanchard, near Port Griffith, was named in honor of Captain Jeremiah Blanchard, the pioneer settler, whose log cabin was the first struc-
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
Jenkins Township, 1851 to 1947
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jenkins Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1947Pittston sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Jenkins Township.
People over time
Jenkins Township, census by census
Between 4,282 and 4,584 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Jenkins Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
2 famous people were born in Jenkins Township
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Jenkins Township is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #787 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.
How old are the homes in Jenkins Township?
21% of Jenkins Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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