Palmyra Township’s post office opened in 1822, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #507 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Palmyra Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 2 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1935 on.
The Palmyra Township post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Palmyra (1822), Paupack (1823) and Paupac (1853), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,206204 years
How historic is Palmyra Township?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Palmyra Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Palmyra Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Palmyra Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #507 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Palmyra 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 Palmyra Township’s 9.1 sits above most of its state (75% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. 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 Palmyra Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Pike County was divided off Wayne County on March 26, 1814, splitting old Palmyra Township down the center. The division line of both new county and of Palmyra Township was the Wallenpaupack River. The Promised Land State Park-Whittaker Lodge District, and Promised Land State Park-Bear Wallow Cabins are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Palmyra Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1935Hawley 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 Palmyra Township.
On the National Register
3 historic places in Palmyra Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Palmyra Township post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Palmyra Township rank for history?
Palmyra Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #507 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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.
What is on the National Register in Palmyra Township?
Three places: the Promised Land State Park Whittaker Lodge District (listed 1987), the Paupack School (2016) and the Promised Land State Park Whittaker Lodge District.
How old are the homes in Palmyra Township?
6% of Palmyra Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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.
2026
