The Norwegian Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Norwegian (1846), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,159180 years
How historic is Norwegian Township?
B
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Norwegian Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Norwegian Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Norwegian Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Norwegian 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 Norwegian 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 B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.1 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 Norwegian Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Norwegian Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1889Pottsville 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 Norwegian Township.
Timeline
Norwegian Township, 1846 to 1920
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Norwegian Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Norwegian Township is a township that is located in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,156 at the time of the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1846. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,310 to 2,159 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
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.
The Norwegian Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Norwegian Township rank for history?
Norwegian Township is more historic than 62% 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 Norwegian Township?
20% of Norwegian Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1983.
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.
