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C+History
History · Lower Allen Township

1 of Lower Allen Township’s places is on the National Register

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #836 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Ashton-Hursh House. Most of Lower Allen Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1906 on.

1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

About Lower Allen Township’s history

How historic is Lower Allen Township?

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More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Lower Allen Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lower Allen Township is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #836 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 Lower Allen Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19405.6% of homes (±2.5) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 1.0 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 42%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 19%

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 Lower Allen Township’s 1.0 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±2.5 points) is firm at this size.

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 Lower Allen Township’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lower Allen Township, and 11 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lower Allen Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19067 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1999. Watch Lower Allen Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

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

Lisburn
1815–1922
White Hill
1844–1852
Eberlys Mill
1853–1915
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AllendaleCedar CliffEberlys MillHighland ParkLisburnLower AllenRaven HillRossmoyneRossmoyne ManorWhite HillWindsor Park
Gone or out of use
Oakgrove Churchchurch
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lower Allen Township
Eberlys MillsLisburnRolling Green Memorial GardensShoppSlate Hill

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

Help out

Start Lower Allen Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Lower Allen Township on the map, 1906 to 1999

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

Lower Allen Township on the 1906 USGS mapLower Allen Township on the 1943 USGS mapLower Allen Township on the 1956 USGS mapLower Allen Township on the 1963 USGS mapLower Allen Township on the 1972 USGS mapLower Allen Township on the 1987 USGS mapLower Allen Township on the 1999 USGS map1906New Cumberland 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 Lower Allen Township.

The story so far

Lower Allen Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lower Allen Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lower Allen is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lower Allen Township in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,694 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 17,980 to 20,099 (+12%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Lower Allen Township, 1815 to 1922

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1815Post officeThe Lisburn post office opens
  3. 1830BuiltAshton-Hursh House is built
  4. 1844Post officeThe White Hill post office opens
  5. 1852Post officeThe White Hill post office closes
  6. 1853Post officeThe Eberlys Mill post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1915Post officeThe Eberlys Mill post office closes
  10. 1922Post officeThe Lisburn post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the National Register

1 historic place in Lower Allen Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Ashton-Hursh House
Ashton-Hursh House, built 1830
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Greek Revival1
Ashton-Hursh HouseFederal · Built 1830

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Fairview Township1 historic placeC+New Cumberland1 historic placeA−LemoyneIts storyB−ShiremanstownIts storyB+Upper Allen Township1 historic placeC+Camp HillIts storyA−Hampden Township2 historic placesBMechanicsburg5 historic placesA+

Questions about Lower Allen Township’s history

How does Lower Allen Township rank for history?

Lower Allen Township is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #836 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 Lower Allen Township?

One place: the Ashton-Hursh House (listed 2003).

How old are the homes in Lower Allen Township?

6% of Lower Allen Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1976.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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).

From the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.