Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #966 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Morton was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1880.
Morton dates its founding to 1866 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Morton is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #966 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Morton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Morton’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Morton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Morton.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Morton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Morton is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,778 at the 2020 census.
Morton was established in 1866. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,669 to 2,778 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Morton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Stedman, on Oct. 16, 1682, took on rent fifty acres, which subsequently became the property of Joseph Stidman. Below this land, and extending nearly to the northern limit of the present village of Morton, John Stidhiiin purchased one hundred and ten acres, and to the right of the latter plantation, Samuel Hall bought, on Feb. 23, 1702, ninety-nine acres, now part of the I. H. Odgen farm. All the remainder of the |
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyBetween 327 and 2,851 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Morton’s Wikipedia page.
Morton’s post office has been open since 1867.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1866, according to Wikidata. Morton’s post office opened in 1867, and the census of 1880 counted 327 people here.
Morton is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #966 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.
9% of Morton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1964.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
2025
2025
2025
2025
2007
2005