The story
Read it all →How Rome Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Rome Township.
The Phillip Paul Bliss House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Rome Township
Rome Township dates to 1796, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1923 on, and the census since 1870.
1796founded
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
How Rome Township began
When was Rome Township founded?
1796
Rome Township dates its founding to 1796 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.
First census: 230 in 18702020 census: 1,010230 years
How historic is Rome Township?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1846.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rome Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rome Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rome Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1796, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194013.6% of homes (±5.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder
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 Rome 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 1796.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 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 Rome 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 Rome Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1796: 230 years of Rome Township.On the map since 19234 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1978. Watch Rome Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Rome Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rome Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
North Rome
Bumpville
Towner
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BumpvilleNorth RomeTowner
Gone or out of use
Hales AirportairportRome Springs Airportairport
1cemetery inside Rome Township
Towner Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Rome Township, 1796 to 1923
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1796FoundingRome Township is established
- 19th century
- 1846Post officeThe North Rome post office opens
- 1886Post officeThe Bumpville post office opens
- 1899Post officeThe Towner post office opens
- 20th century
- 1904Post officeThe Bumpville post office closes
- 1904Post officeThe Towner post office closes
- 1906Post officeThe North Rome post office closes
- 1923
In the archiveRome PA Presby PHS534 - 1923
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Rome Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1920s1 item
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
2012
2012
2012
2007
2007On the map
Rome Township on the map, 1923 to 1978
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rome Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1923Towanda sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rome Township.
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.
Retake this viewRome PA Presby PHS534, 1923
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Rome Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Rome Township, census by census
Between 200 and 475 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rome Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Rome Township’s history
What year was Rome Township founded?
In 1796, according to Wikidata. Rome Township’s post office opened in 1846, and the census of 1870 counted 230 people here.
How does Rome Township rank for history?
Rome Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. 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 Rome Township?
14% of Rome Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1983.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, 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.