On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Redstone Township is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #45 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Redstone 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 Redstone Township’s 48.2 sits above most of its state (86% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% 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 (±8.2 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 Redstone 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
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Grindstone
1891–today
Braznell
1899–1932
Brier Hill
1904–today
Republic
1905–today
Fairbank
1906–today
Orient
1906–1934
Rowes Run
1910–1935
Chestnut Ridge
1912–today
Cardale
1924–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AllisonBraznellBrier HillCardaleChestnut RidgeDavidsonDunlap Creek VillageFairbankFilbertHerbertHibbsLinnMerrittstownOrientRepublicRowes RunThompson Number 1Tower Hill Number OneTuckertown
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Redstone Township
Church of the MadonnaDunlap Creek PresbyterianGrindstone First Christian ChurchHoly RosaryLafayette Memorial ParkMooreSaint CeciliaSaint Mary'sSaint Peters
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Redstone Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Redstone Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Redstone Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1900Masontown 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 Redstone Township.
Geopolitically, Redstone was a frequent point of embarkation to cross the Monongahela River for travelers who had crossed the Alleghenies or were heading west via the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers by boat. Its strategic importance had long been recognized and used by the Indians, and it was a target terminus of Braddock's Road during the French and Indian War. Redstone Old Fort was the terminus of an Indian trail which settlers improved around 1750. They afterward called it Nemacolin's Trail, named after the Indian chief who assisted the improvement through the mountain pass. From this area, travelers could travel by water downstream on the Monongahela river to what is now Pittsburgh, or overland, by trails that later became Brownsville Road to the same destination.
Redstone Township is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #45 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 Redstone Township?
5 listings: 4 buildings and 1 historic district, the Brier Hill, with 18 contributing buildings. 24 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Redstone Township?
53% of Redstone Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
