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PA 244 eb in Oswayo BoroughPhoto: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded
History · Oswayo Township

Oswayo Township dates to 1820, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1880.

1820founded
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Oswayo Township began

When was Oswayo Township founded?

1820

Oswayo Township dates its founding to 1820 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 321 in 18802020 census: 224206 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓

What stands out about Oswayo 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 Oswayo Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Oswayo Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 382 in 1910; 134 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1820: 206 years of Oswayo Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oswayo Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oswayo 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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

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

Eleven Mile
1857–1909
Chrystal
1883–1919
Kibbeville
1903–1913
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ChrystalEleven MileKibbeville
Gone or out of use
Sharon Oil and Gas Fieldoilfield

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

People over time

Oswayo Township, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 382

Peaked at 382 in 1910; 134 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oswayo Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Oswayo Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oswayo Township.

Read it all →

Oswayo was incorporated on January 8, 1901 and named for the Township. The Oswayo Valley had one of the best white pine stands in Pennsylvania. The name is the English derivative of the Seneca word "O-sa-ayeh", meaning pine forest. The whole of the valley was a vast pine forest of trees standing so close that it was impossible for underbrush to grow. Some of the trees reached heights of between 100 and 150 feet with the lowest branches 50 to 75 feet above the ground. The nucleus of the town had been well established in the days before the Civil War. Early settlers earned their living harvesting white pine. Many of the logs were splashed out on the high waters in the spring of the year. The cities along the Ohio often specified "Oswayo White Pine" because of its quality.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oswayo Township, 1820 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1820
    FoundingOswayo Township is established
  3. 1857Post officeThe Eleven Mile post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Chrystal post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903Post officeThe Kibbeville post office opens
  7. 1909Post officeThe Eleven Mile post office closes
  8. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 382
  9. 1913Post officeThe Kibbeville post office closes
  10. 1919Post officeThe Chrystal post office closes
  11. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Oswayo Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
PA 244 eb in Oswayo Borough2009PA 244 eb in Oswayo Borough
On the map

Oswayo Township on the map, 1934 to 1969

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

Oswayo Township on the 1934 USGS mapOswayo Township on the 1969 USGS map1934Coudersport 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 Oswayo Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

OswayoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGenesee TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSharon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHebron TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Oswayo Township’s history

What year was Oswayo Township founded?

In 1820, according to Wikidata. Oswayo Township’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1880 counted 321 people here.

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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.