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History · Lower Providence Township

Lower Providence Township dates to 1805, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #527 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Mill Grove, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 22 buildings. Most of Lower Providence Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1930.

1805founded
4on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lower Providence Township began

When was Lower Providence Township founded?

1805

Lower Providence Township dates its founding to 1805 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 3,189 in 19302020 census: 25,625221 years

How historic is Lower Providence Township?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lower Providence Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lower Providence Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #527 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lower Providence Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1805, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19403.6% of homes (±1.5) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register4 listings, 23 historic buildings, 8.9 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 49%

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 Providence Township’s 8.9 sits above most of its state (75% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 23 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1805.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Providence 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 Lower Providence Township, and 30 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lower Providence Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18947 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1992. Watch Lower Providence Township change.A historic districtThe Evansburg Historic District takes in 22 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

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

Lower Providence
1831–1918
Eagleville
1853–1964
Providence Square
1878–1928
Audubon
1899–1962
Tooper
1899–1922
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arbors at ProvidenceArrowhead KnollAudobon GardensAudubonAudubon GardensAudubon ShrineColdspring CrossingColony ArmsEagel StreamEaglevilleEvansburgEvansburg CrossingFairview VillageMoister TractPalm Beach FarmProvidence CrossingProvidence GreenProvidence MeadowsProvidence OaksSunnyside FarmsThe Estates of Audubon NorthThe Estates of Audubon SouthThe PinesTrooper
Gone or out of use
Lower Providence Post Officepost office
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lower Providence Township
Funkite Providence MennoniteLower Providence Baptist ChurchLower Providence Presbyterian ChurchNorriton DunkerPhiladelphia Protectory for BoysSaint James Perkiomen ChurchWetherills

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

Help out

Start Lower Providence Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lower Providence 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
On the map

Lower Providence Township on the map, 1894 to 1992

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

Lower Providence Township on the 1894 USGS mapLower Providence Township on the 1943 USGS mapLower Providence Township on the 1951 USGS mapLower Providence Township on the 1966 USGS mapLower Providence Township on the 1973 USGS mapLower Providence Township on the 1983 USGS mapLower Providence Township on the 1992 USGS map1894Norristown 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 Providence Township.

The story

How Lower Providence Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lower Providence Township.

Read it all →

Lower Providence Township was established in 1805 by the division of the former Providence Township into Upper and Lower Providence along the Perkiomen Creek.

Lower Providence is part of the historic homeland of the Lenape people, called the Delaware Indians by early European settlers.

It was part of a large tract of land, which was granted to William Penn, the founder and first governor of the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania.

Skippack Bridge, built in 1792 in the township, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lower Providence Township, 1805 to 1989

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1805
    FoundingLower Providence Township is established
  3. 1831Post officeThe Lower Providence post office opens
  4. 1853Post officeThe Eagleville post office opens
  5. 1858Born hereGeorge Ritter Burnett is born here
  6. 1878Post officeThe Providence Square post office opens
  7. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1918Post officeThe Lower Providence post office closes
  10. 1928Post officeThe Providence Square post office closes
  11. 1964Post officeThe Eagleville post office closes
  12. 1989LandmarkMill Grove named a National Historic Landmark
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the National Register

4 listings protect 23 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmark
1
Mill Grove
historic buildings protected
23
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Skippack Bridge
Skippack BridgeEvansburg Historic DistrictPerkiomen BridgeMill Grove★
BuildingsDistrictsStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Colonial1
Federal1
★ Landmark
Mill GroveColonial
Skippack BridgeStructure
Evansburg Historic DistrictFederal
Perkiomen BridgeStructure

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

People over time

Lower Providence Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0001940196019802000202025,625

Grew from 3,189 people in 1930 to 25,625 in 2020, 8 times over.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Upper Providence Township1 historic placeB−Audubon1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCollegeville1 historic placeB+Schuylkill Township5 historic placesB+West Norriton TownshipIts storyC−Upper Merion Township7 historic placesA−Skippack Township2 historic placesA−OaksIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWorcester Township2 historic placesB+EvansburgIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lower Providence Township’s history

What year was Lower Providence Township founded?

In 1805, according to Wikidata. Lower Providence Township’s post office opened in 1831, and the census of 1930 counted 3,189 people here.

How does Lower Providence Township rank for history?

Lower Providence Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #527 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 Providence Township?

4 listings: 1 building, among them the Mill Grove (a National Historic Landmark since 1989), 1 historic district, the Evansburg Historic District, with 22 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 23 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Lower Providence Township?

4% of Lower Providence Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1979.

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).

From Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) 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.