On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Penndel is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #848 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Penndel’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 Penndel’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1899.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.2 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Penndel’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Penndel Borough, although small, is rich in history. The area, originally inhabited by the Lenape people, was settled by Thomas Langhorne, an English Quaker preacher, and by Henry Paulin, a Quaker Yeoman, on land grants from William Penn. Penndel remained a farming region until 1876 when the Philadelphia Reading Railroad began service, and the Langhorne train station was established. In 1878 Thomas Eastburn & Co. advertised 130 Building Lots in the area calling it "The Eden of Bucks County." Slowly individual homes and small businesses were built in close proximity to the railroad, and the town expanded from there. It began as the Eden Post Office, was incorporated as the borough of Attleboro on June 22, 1899; the name changed to South Langhorne in February 1911, and finally to Penndel on November 17, 1947. Today Penndel has both a thriving industrial district and residential areas with…
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.
In 1899, according to Wikidata. the census of 1900 counted 377 people here.
How does Penndel rank for history?
Penndel is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #848 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 Penndel?
21% of Penndel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2024
2014
