On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Reserve Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #551 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Reserve 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 Reserve Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1835.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Reserve Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost half of its people between 1860 and 1870, then more than doubled.
17 censuses, 1850–2010.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Reserve Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Reserve Township on the map, 1904 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Reserve Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Pittsburgh 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 Reserve Township.
The land that became Reserve Township was part of a 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) tract that the Pennsylvania General Assembly reserved in 1783 for state use, from which the township later took its name. Surveyed by Alexander McClean in 1785, the tract extended at least one mile inland from the Allegheny and Ohio rivers opposite Fort Pitt, with boundaries that included part of Girty's Run and land opposite the mouth of Chartiers Creek. Before its sale by the state, the tract was subdivided by surveyor David Redick, who described its rugged topography in a 1788 letter to Benjamin Franklin:
12cemeteries and burying grounds inside Reserve Township
Adath IsraelCneseth IsraelKether TorahMachsikei HadasMost Holy Name of JesusPodolierRidgelawnSaint NicholasSaint Paul'sTroy Hill HebrewWorkman's Circle Cemetery 975Workmen's Circle Branch Cemetery 932
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1835, according to Wikidata. the census of 1850 counted 1,160 people here.
How does Reserve Township rank for history?
Reserve Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #551 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.
How old are the homes in Reserve Township?
23% of Reserve Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
