Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1833.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Moreland Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moreland Township is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Moreland 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 Moreland Township’s 59.4 sits above most of its state (86% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1790.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points).
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 Moreland Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Moreland Township originally covered the entire southeast corner of Lycoming County but was divided into three townships in 1822. One part kept the name Moreland, while the other two parts were Penn and Franklin Township.
The Lairdsville Covered Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The Houseknecht Farm was added in 2007.
Passages that mention Moreland Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania1929 · page 203Read the page →
Read the text
Moreland Township is well supplied with churches and school houses, most of which were built at a very early period. The Little Muncy Baptist Church was organized in 1817 and afterwards became known as the Madison Baptist Church, its membership being composed of people who lived in that section of Lycoming County and also coming from across the mountain, in Montour, Columbia and Northumberland counties.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania1929 · page 200Read the page →
Read the text
Moreland Township was taken from Muncy Creek Township in 18138, the latter having been erected out of a part of the original Muncy Township in 1797. From 1813 down to the year 1820 Moreland Township included all of the territory now embraced within the limits of Franklin, Jordan and a part of Penn. There are several theories as to how it got its name, none of them authentic, and all of them more or less speculative. It is said by some that when one of the earliest settlers
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.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Moreland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1935Hughesville 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 Moreland Township.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Moreland Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1790, according to Wikidata. Moreland Township’s post office opened in 1833.
How does Moreland Township rank for history?
Moreland Township is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns. 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 Moreland Township?
Two places: the Lairdsville Covered Bridge (listed 1980) and the Houseknecht Farm (2007).
How old are the homes in Moreland Township?
23% of Moreland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
