Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Reilly Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Reilly Township

77% of Reilly Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1892 on.

0on the National Register
77%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nicholas from Pennsylvania, USA · CC BY 2.0

What stands out about Reilly Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Reilly Township, and 7 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Reilly Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1999. Watch Reilly Township change.Old housesHalf of Reilly Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

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

Branch Dale
1850–today
Swatara
1852–1900
Blackwood
1889–1919
Zerbe
1900–1964
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BlackwoodBranch DaleMiddle CreekNew MinesNewtownSwataraZerbe

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

Help out

Start Reilly Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Reilly Township on the map, 1892 to 1999

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

Reilly Township on the 1892 USGS mapReilly Township on the 1947 USGS mapReilly Township on the 1955 USGS mapReilly Township on the 1969 USGS mapReilly Township on the 1976 USGS mapReilly Township on the 1999 USGS map1892Pine Grove 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 Reilly Township.

The story so far

Reilly Township, in brief

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

Reilly Township is a township that is located in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 641 at the time of the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 726 to 639 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Reilly Township, 1850 to 1919

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Branch Dale post office opens
  3. 1852Post officeThe Swatara post office opens
  4. 1889Post officeThe Blackwood post office opens
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900Post officeThe Swatara post office closes
  8. 1919Post officeThe Blackwood post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Reilly Township

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

See all →
Gary S. BeckerAmerican economist · b. 1930
John O'HaraAmerican journalist and writer · b. 1905
J
Janet AsimovAuthor, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst · b. 1926
M
Matt WachterAmerican musician · b. 1976
Emil SeidelAmerican politician · b. 1864
R
Ralph PetersAmerican military officer, writer, pundit · b. 1952
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Washington Township2 historic placesA−Frailey TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBranch TownshipIts storyBCass TownshipIts storyB+Tremont TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWayne TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Reilly Township’s history

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 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.