Radnor Township dates to 1686, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns · #90 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
12 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 572 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and old-book passages.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Radnor Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Radnor Township is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #90 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Radnor 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 Radnor Township’s 172 sits above most of its state (91% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 580 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1686.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Radnor Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Radnor Post Officepost officeWayne Elementary Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Radnor Township
Augustinian CommunityFrancisvale Home for Smaller Animals PetRadnor BaptistRadnor FriendsRadnor United Methodist ChurchSaint Martins Episcopal Church Memorial Garden
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Radnor Township on the map, 1894 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Radnor 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 Radnor Township.
The community of Radnor was founded in 1686 at the Radnor Friends Meetinghouse, which was located on Conestoga Road, a bypass of Lancaster Avenue connecting Devon and Bryn Mawr. During the Revolutionary War, the meetinghouse was used as an outpost for General George Washington's Continental Army. In 1872, the Pennsylvania Railroad's Main Line was constructed, which briefly passed through the southern section of Radnor. A station serving the town was established at King of Prussia Road, approximately one mile south of the Meetinghouse.
Passages that mention Radnor Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of old St. David's church, Radnor, in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, with a complete alphabetical list of wardens and vestrymen, and of the interments in the graveyard, 1700-19061907 · page 13Read the page →
Read the text
people in it as any, but the Congregation of the Church depends on other Townships more than upon Radnor * * * for Radnor Township has very few church people in it, but East Town and Newtown and others adjacent thereunto has more belonging to the Church than Radnor, and indeed the Church itself does not stand in Radnor Township, but in Newtown, only as I heard say by some, they design to have it Radnor Parish when the County is divided so.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Radnor Township, 1686 to 1967
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 1686, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Radnor Township’s post office opened in 1849.
How does Radnor Township rank for history?
Radnor Township is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #90 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 Radnor Township?
12 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Glenays (listed 1977, the first), 3 historic districts, the North Wayne Historic District, the South Wayne Historic District and the Downtown Wayne Historic District, with 572 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 580 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Radnor Township?
20% of Radnor Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1962.
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 Library of Congress (12), the National Register of Historic Places (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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