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CHistory
History · North Towanda Township

North Towanda Township’s post office opened in 1852, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1923 on.

1852first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Bruce Fingerhood from Springfield, Oregon, US · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How North Towanda Township began

When was North Towanda Township founded?

1852

The North Towanda Township post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, North Towanda (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,051174 years

How historic is North Towanda Township?

C

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first North Towanda Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives North Towanda Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Towanda Township is more historic than 33% 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 Towanda Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1852, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.7% of homes (±6.9) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 33%
NewerOlder

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 Towanda 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 (±6.9 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 Towanda Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of North Towanda Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19235 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1998. Watch North Towanda Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Towanda Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how North Towanda 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

North Towanda Township on the map, 1923 to 1998

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

North Towanda Township on the 1923 USGS mapNorth Towanda Township on the 1943 USGS mapNorth Towanda Township on the 1967 USGS mapNorth Towanda Township on the 1978 USGS mapNorth Towanda Township on the 1998 USGS map1923Towanda 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 Towanda Township.

The story so far

North Towanda Township, in brief

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

North Towanda Township is a township in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 1,055 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,132 to 1,051 (-7%).

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

Timeline

North Towanda Township, 1852 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe North Towanda post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1917Post officeThe North Towanda post office closes
  5. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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
Famous people

Famous people close to North Towanda Township

Nobody well known was born in North Towanda Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Gregory La CavaAmerican film director · b. 1892
Edward Angus BurtAmerican mycologist · b. 1859
Andrew James Louis BrennanAmerican prelate of the Roman Catholic Church · b. 1877
Joshua Reed GiddingsAmerican politician · b. 1795
Ada BittenbenderAmerican lawyer, feminist activist · b. 1848
Elise MercurAmerican architect · b. 1864
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, North Towanda, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
North Towanda
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Towanda Township
Pail FactorySaints Peter and Paul

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sheshequin Township1 historic placeA−Towanda1 historic placeA+Wysox Township1 historic placeA−Towanda TownshipIts storyB+Burlington Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about North Towanda Township’s history

What year was North Towanda Township founded?

The North Towanda Township post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does North Towanda Township rank for history?

North Towanda Township is more historic than 33% 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 Towanda Township?

14% of North Towanda Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 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 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.