1 of Perkiomen Township’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #735 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Pennypacker Mansion. Most of Perkiomen Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 2000.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Perkiomen Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #735 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Perkiomen 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 Perkiomen Township’s 3.3 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±3.2 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 Perkiomen Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Grater Ford
1869–1959
Rahns
1923–1959
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Fox HeathGraterfordGreenshire EstatesGreenview EstatesPerkiomen GreeneRahnsRegency Knoll
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Perkiomen Township
Keelys ChurchPerkiomen Valley
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Perkiomen Township on the map, 1894 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Perkiomen Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1894Norristown 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 Perkiomen Township.
The Perkiomen Valley was first inhabited by the Lenni-Lenape Tribe and was declared part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 4, 1681, by King Charles II.
In 1720, the first copper mine in Pennsylvania was located near Schwenksville. Perkiomen Valley provided the colonists and the Native Americans a rich place to grow crops and livestock, which would later feed the troops during the Revolutionary War. George Washington's troops were stationed in Valley Forge during the American Revolutionary War. One of the notable residents of the Perkiomen Valley was John James Audubon, a French-American ornithologist noted for his paintings and drawings of birds.
Perkiomen Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #735 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 Perkiomen Township?
One place: the Pennypacker Mansion (listed 1976).
How old are the homes in Perkiomen Township?
7% of Perkiomen Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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.
