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Scenery of Jordan Township, Lycoming County, PennsylvaniaPhoto: Jakec · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Jordan Township

Jordan Township dates to 1812, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1953 on.

1812founded
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Jordan Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Jordan Township began, and where its name came from

When was Jordan Township founded?

1812

Jordan Township dates its founding to 1812 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1840.

2020 census: 850214 years

How did Jordan Township get its name?

Jordan Township was named in honor of Alexander Jordan, who was president judge of the district court at the time of the formation of the township.

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1840. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Jordan 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.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Jordan Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1812: 214 years of Jordan Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jordan Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

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

Unityville
1840–today
Lungerville
1895–1907
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BiggerstownLungervilleRicharts GroveUnityville
Gone or out of use
Gardner Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jordan Township
GordnerLungervilleRicharts GroveSalem

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

Timeline

Jordan Township, 1812 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1812
    FoundingJordan Township is established
  3. 1840Post officeThe Unityville post office opens
  4. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Lycoming County - Jordan - ED 41-25
  5. 1895Post officeThe Lungerville post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1907Post officeThe Lungerville post office closes
  8. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Jordan Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jordan Township.

Read it all →

Jordan Township was formed from the eastern part of Franklin Township on February 7, 1854. It was named in honor of Alexander Jordan, who was president judge of the district court at the time of the formation of the township. The first permanent settler arrived in Jordan Township in 1812. William Lore cleared a parcel of land and established a homestead; others soon followed his footsteps. The lumber industry was very important in Jordan Township for the first 70 years of its history. The hills and valleys were cleared of their old-growth forests by the end of the 19th century. Today much of those forests form a thriving second growth forest.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Jordan Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Lycoming County - Jordan - ED 41-2518801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Pennsylvania State Route 422009Pennsylvania State Route 42Pennsylvania State Route 2392009Pennsylvania State Route 239Pennsylvania State Route 118 at the junction with State Route 2392009Pennsylvania State Route 118 at the junction with Sta…Jordan Twp Farm2008Jordan Twp FarmFlickr - Nicholas T - Grassy (2)2008Flickr - Nicholas T - Grassy (2)
On the map

Jordan Township on the map, 1953 to 1975

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

Jordan Township on the 1953 USGS mapJordan Township on the 1968 USGS mapJordan Township on the 1975 USGS map1953Hughesville 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 Jordan Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Lycoming County - Jordan - ED 41-25
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Lycoming County - Jordan - ED 41-25, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Jordan Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Jordan Township

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

See all →
J
Johnny BentAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1908
N
Neil WelliverAmerican artist · b. 1929
Jared SolomonAmerican baseball player · b. 1997
Joseph Marshall FrancisAmerican cleric (1862–1939); bishop of Indiana … · b. 1862
M
Melvin E. PageAmerican dentist · b. 1894
R
Ralph SavidgeMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1879
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Franklin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPine Township3 historic placesADavidson Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Jordan Township’s history

What year was Jordan Township founded?

In 1812, according to Wikidata. Jordan Township’s post office opened in 1840.

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 (6), 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.