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Ponfeigh Farm barn and siloPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Northampton Township

28% of Northampton Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1923 on.

0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Northampton Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Northampton Township’s past

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

Lost villages6 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Northampton Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19234 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1973. Watch Northampton Township change.Old housesHalf of Northampton Township’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

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

Southampton
1829–1862
Southampton Mills
1869–1881
Johnsburg
1870–1907
Philson
1873–1893
Glencoe
1881–today
Bowmans
1883–1886
Mance
1892–1929
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FoleyGlencoeJohnsburgMancePhilson
Gone or out of use
Becks Cut StationbuildingFoley Stationbuilding
1cemetery inside Northampton Township
Lebanon

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

Help out

Start Northampton Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Northampton Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewNorthampton Brewery, Newport Avenue nor…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Northampton Township on the map, 1923 to 1973

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

Northampton Township on the 1923 USGS mapNorthampton Township on the 1944 USGS mapNorthampton Township on the 1967 USGS mapNorthampton Township on the 1973 USGS map1923Berlin 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 Northampton Township.

The story so far

Northampton Township, in brief

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

Northampton Township is a township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 303 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 343 to 305 (-11%).

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

Timeline

Northampton Township, 1829 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1829Post officeThe Southampton post office opens
  3. 1860In the archiveMap of Northampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, from 1860 Somerset County Map…
  4. 1862Post officeThe Southampton post office closes
  5. 1869Post officeThe Southampton Mills post office opens
  6. 1870Post officeThe Johnsburg post office opens
  7. 1881Post officeThe Southampton Mills post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1907Post officeThe Johnsburg post office closes
  10. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Northampton Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Map of Northampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, from 1860 Somerset County Map by Edward L Walker1860Map of Northampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsyl…Map
Date unknown3 to date
Northampton Brewery, Newport Avenue north of Laubach AvenueDate?Northampton Brewery, Newport Avenue north of Laubach …Main Street (Houses)Date?Main Street (Houses)Lehigh Canal, Guard Lock 5, 2.4 miles upstream from Cementon-Northampton Bridge in Allen Township, TreichlersDate?Lehigh Canal, Guard Lock 5, 2.4 miles upstream from C…
Today4 recent
Wills Creek at Philson2018Wills Creek at PhilsonPonfeigh Farm barn and silo2018Ponfeigh Farm barn and siloPennsylvania State Route 1602014Pennsylvania State Route 160Map of Somerset County, Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton Township2008Map of Somerset County, Pennsylvania highlighting Nor…Map
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Northampton Brewery, Newport Avenue north of Laubach Avenue
Retake this viewNorthampton Brewery, Newport Avenue north of Laubach Avenue

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Northampton Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Northampton Township

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

See all →
Edward MooneyCatholic cardinal · b. 1882
Lenore KightAmerican swimmer, Olympic silver medalist · b. 1911
J. Glenn BeallPolitician and United States Army soldier · b. 1894
Charles J. ColganPolitician · b. 1926
Kenneth PrestonUS Army soldier · b. 1957
Augustine B. KelleyAmerican politician · b. 1883
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Brothersvalley Township1 historic placeAFairhope Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSouthampton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAllegheny Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLarimer TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Northampton Township’s history

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (3), 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.