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History · Lack Township

Lack Township’s post office opened in 1883, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 1850.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lack Township began

When was Lack Township founded?

1883

The Lack Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Waterloo (1821), Peru Mills (1850) and Blacklog (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,146 in 18502020 census: 636143 years
Founding year: the first Lack Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lack Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lack Township, and 7 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lack Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,439 in 1880; 637 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19195 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1971. Watch Lack Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Waterloo
1821–1906
Peru Mills
1850–1906
Blacklog
1882–1942
Lack
1883–1906
Perulack
1896–1964
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BlacklogCross KeysKrausePeru MillsPerulackSpears GroveWaterloo
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lack Township
Byron RunCross Keys MethodistMcWilliamsPolkUpper Tuscarora PresbyterianWaterloo

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

Help out

Start Lack Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lack 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
People over time

Lack Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001850190019502000Peak: 1,439

Peaked at 1,439 in 1880; 637 people lived here in 2020.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

The story

How Lack Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lack Township.

Read it all →

This American township was named by Irish settlers, most likely after Lack, County Fermanagh, although also possibly after Leck, of which there are several places of that name in the Province of Ulster.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lack Township, 1821 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1821Post officeThe Waterloo post office opens
  3. 1850Post officeThe Peru Mills post office opens
  4. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 1,439
  5. 1882Post officeThe Blacklog post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1906Post officeThe Waterloo post office closes
  8. 1906Post officeThe Peru Mills post office closes
  9. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1942Post officeThe Blacklog post office closes
By decade

Lack Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Barn Lack TWP Juniata Co PA2016Barn Lack TWP Juniata Co PA
On the map

Lack Township on the map, 1919 to 1971

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

Lack Township on the 1919 USGS mapLack Township on the 1936 USGS mapLack Township on the 1941 USGS mapLack Township on the 1960 USGS mapLack Township on the 1971 USGS map1919Mattawana 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 Lack Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lack Township

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

See all →
Joseph RothrockU.S. botanist. mycologist, lichenologist & cons… · b. 1839
I
Ira J. DeenAmerican artist · b. 1874
R.W. DromgoldBusinessperson and Los Angeles, California poli… · b. 1856
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Toboyne Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBratton TownshipIts storyA−Wayne TownshipIts storyC+Tell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTuscarora TownshipIts storyC+Fannett TownshipIts storyB−Shirley Township3 historic placesA−

Questions about Lack Township’s history

What year was Lack Township founded?

The Lack Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.