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History · Potter Township

Potter Township’s post office opened in 1859

Most of Potter Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1970.

1859first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Potter Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Potter Township began

When was Potter Township founded?

1859

The Potter Township post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Potter (1859), Bellowsville (1874) and Josephtown (1931), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 484 in 19702020 census: 520167 years
Founding year: the first Potter Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Potter 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 villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Potter Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19014 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1979. Watch Potter Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Potter Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Potter Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Potter
1859–1861
Bellowsville
1874–1902
Josephtown
1931–1933
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BellowsvilleJosephtown

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Potter Township on the map, 1901 to 1979

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Potter Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Potter Township on the 1901 USGS mapPotter Township on the 1953 USGS mapPotter Township on the 1969 USGS mapPotter Township on the 1979 USGS map1901Beaver 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 Potter Township.

The story so far

Potter Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Potter Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Potter Township is a township in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 522 at the 2020 census. It is home to the Shell Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex.

Its first post office opened in 1859. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 548 to 520 (-5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Potter Township, 1850 to 1933

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Beaver County - ED 4-115, …
  3. 1859Post officeThe Potter post office opens
  4. 1861Post officeThe Potter post office closes
  5. 1874Post officeThe Bellowsville post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1902Post officeThe Bellowsville post office closes
  9. 1931Post officeThe Josephtown post office opens
  10. 1933Post officeThe Josephtown post office closes
By decade

Potter Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Beaver County - ED 4-115, ED 4-116, ED 4-117, ED 4-118, …18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Penns…
Today5 recent
Shell petrochemical facility in Beaver, Pennsylvania2023Shell petrochemical facility in Beaver, PennsylvaniaShellCrackerBeaverCounty2022ShellCrackerBeaverCountyPresident Trump at Shell Pennsylvania2019President Trump at Shell PennsylvaniaRaccoon Creek near mouth2009Raccoon Creek near mouthPennsylvania Route 18 over Raccoon Creek2009Pennsylvania Route 18 over Raccoon Creek
Then & 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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Beaver County - ED 4-115, ED 4-116, ED 4-117, ED 4-118, …
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Beaver County - ED 4-115, ED 4-116, ED 4-117, ED 4-118, …, 1850

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Potter Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Potter Township, census by census

0100200300400500600198020002020Peak: 605

Between 484 and 605 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Potter Township’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Potter Township

Nobody well known was born in Potter Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Pete MaravichAmerican basketball player · b. 1947
Shane DouglasAmerican professional wrestler and promoter · b. 1964
Joe LetteriAmerican visual effects artist · b. 1957
Darrelle RevisAmerican football player · b. 1985
T
Tony DorsettAmerican football player · b. 1954
Ty LawAmerican football player · b. 1974
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Raccoon TownshipIts storyCShippingportIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCenter TownshipIts storyDIndustry1 historic placeA−Vanport TownshipIts storyC+Beaver2 historic placesA+

Questions about Potter Township’s history

What year was Potter Township founded?

The Potter Township post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.