The story
Read it all →How Penn Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Penn Township.
Penn Township was formed out of a division of Londonderry Township in 1817, as a second-class township.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Penn Township
Half of Penn Township’s homes were built after 2002
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #1,002 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Penn Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1930.
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
About Penn Township’s history
How historic is Penn Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Penn Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Penn Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #1,002 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Penn Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraAge sits out for Penn Township: no founding date holds up well enough to grade on–Homes built before 19405.7% of homes (±3.9) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 19%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 3%
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 Penn 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Penn 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Penn Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19043 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1943. Watch Penn Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Penn Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Penn Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Jennersville
Elkviev
Kelton
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ElkviewJennersvilleKelton
1cemetery inside Penn Township
Kelton Church of Christ
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Penn Township on the map, 1904 to 1943
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Penn Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Coatesville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Penn Township.
Timeline
Penn Township, 1814 to 1953
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1814Post officeThe Jennersville post office opens
- 1861Post officeThe Elkviev post office opens
- 1871Post officeThe Kelton post office opens
- 1880
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Chester County - Penn - ED 15-63 - 20th century
- 1904Post officeThe Jennersville post office closes
- 1904
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1953Post officeThe Elkviev post office closes
By decade
Penn Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
2026Then & 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.
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Chester County - Penn - ED 15-63, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Penn Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Penn Township, census by census
Grew from 537 people in 1930 to 5,644 in 2020, more than tenfold.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Penn Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Penn Township
Nobody well known was born in Penn Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
J
Justin BestAmerican rower · b. 1997
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Penn Township’s history
How does Penn Township rank for history?
Penn Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #1,002 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.
How old are the homes in Penn Township?
6% of Penn Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 2002.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.