The story
Read it all →How Penn Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Penn Township.
The Bridge between Monroe and Penn Townships was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: User:Dincher · CC BY-SA 3.0C−History
History · Penn Township
Half of Penn Township’s homes were built after 1996
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #1,018 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Penn Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1893 on.
0on the National Register
4%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 16% 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 16% of U.S. towns, #1,018 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 eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19404.1% of homes (±2.5) · 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 16%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 2%
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 (±2.5 points) is firm at this size.
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.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1973. Watch Penn Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Penn Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ 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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Penn Township on the map, 1893 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Penn Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Sunbury 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.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and old corners
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Kantz
Salem
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
KantzPawling StationSalem
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Penn Township, 1858 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1858Post officeThe Kantz post office opens
- 1869Post officeThe Salem post office opens
- 1893
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1905Post officeThe Salem post office closes
- 1912Post officeThe Kantz post office closes
- 1988
In the archiveBridge between Monroe and Penn Townships, original
By decade
Penn Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 albumToday10 recent
2024US 522 truss bridge over Penns Creek, Selinsgrove, PA…
2024US 522 nb entering Penn Twp., Snyder Co., PA, June 20…
2024US 522 nb approaching PA 204, June 2024
20212021-10-28 11 40 42 View north along Pennsylvania Sta…
2009Bridge between Monroe and Penn Townships marker Oct 09
2009Bridge between Monroe and Penn Townships Oct 09
2008US Route 522 - Pennsylvania
2008US Route 11 - Pennsylvania
2007Selinsgrove Speedway Turn Sign
2007Selinsgrove Speedway FrontstretchThen & 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 viewBridge between Monroe and Penn Townships, original, 1988
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 · +15Famous 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.
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Cummings C. ChesneyAmerican electrical engineer · b. 1863
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 16% of U.S. towns, #1,018 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?
4% of Penn Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (11), 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.