Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers
How North Shenango Township began
When was North Shenango Township founded?
1854
The North Shenango Township post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Espyville (1837), North Shenango (1854) and Espyville Station (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,387 in 20002020 census: 1,272172 years
How historic is North Shenango Township?
C
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first North Shenango Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives North Shenango Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Shenango Township is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Shenango 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 North Shenango Township’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 North Shenango Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Espyville
1837–1917
North Shenango
1854–1877
Espyville Station
1888–1972
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
EspyvilleStewartvilleTuttle Lake
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Shenango Township
EspyvilleWillson
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
North Shenango Township on the map, 1906 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Shenango Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Linesville 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 North Shenango Township.
The story so far
North Shenango Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of North Shenango Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
North Shenango Township is a township in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,275 at the 2020 census, down from 1,410 at the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1854. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,410 to 1,272 (-10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
North Shenango Township, 1837 to 1972
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The North Shenango Township post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does North Shenango Township rank for history?
North Shenango Township is more historic than 29% 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.
How old are the homes in North Shenango Township?
11% of North Shenango Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 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.
