10% of Plumstead Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #305 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 198 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1930.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plumstead Township is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #305 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Plumstead 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 Plumstead Township’s 140 sits above most of its state (90% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 198 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% 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 (±3.0 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 Plumstead Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Danboro Post Officepost officeGardenville SchoolschoolPlumstead AirfieldairportPlumsteadville SchoolschoolPoint Pleasent Post Officepost officeValley Park Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Plumstead Township
The township was settled in the early 18th Century by Quakers pursuing religious freedom. By 1725, a formal petition was presented to Bucks County to recognize the area as Plumstead Township. The Doan Outlaws notoriously were raised in Plumstead and participated in criminal activity throughout the American Revolutionary War.
The Gardenville-North Branch Rural Historic District, Dyerstown Historic District, and Loux Covered Bridge are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Plumstead Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1890Doylestown 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 Plumstead Township.
People over time
Plumstead Township, census by census
Grew from 2,080 people in 1930 to 14,021 in 2020, 6 times over.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Plumstead Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Plumstead Township is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #305 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 Plumstead Township?
Three places: the Dyerstown Historic District (listed 1987), the Point Pleasant Historic District (1989) and the Gardenville-North Branch Rural Historic District (1991).
How old are the homes in Plumstead Township?
10% of Plumstead Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
