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BHistory
History · Sadsbury Township

Sadsbury Township dates to 1717, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #593 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1930.

1717founded
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Sadsbury Township began

When was Sadsbury Township founded?

1717

Sadsbury Township dates its founding to 1717 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 1,071 in 19302020 census: 4,125309 years

How historic is Sadsbury Township?

B

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1825.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Sadsbury Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sadsbury Township is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #593 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 Sadsbury Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1717, from Wikipedia: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194010.7% of homes (±5.6) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−National 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 61%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 43%

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 Sadsbury 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 Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1717.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 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 Sadsbury 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.On the map since 19046 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1973. Watch Sadsbury Township change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1717, 59 years before the Declaration of Independence.Lost villages6 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sadsbury Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Sadsbury Township on the map, 1904 to 1973

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

Sadsbury Township on the 1904 USGS mapSadsbury Township on the 1918 USGS mapSadsbury Township on the 1943 USGS mapSadsbury Township on the 1953 USGS mapSadsbury Township on the 1968 USGS mapSadsbury Township on the 1973 USGS map1904Coatesville 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 Sadsbury Township.

Timeline

Sadsbury Township, 1717 to 1904

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1717
    FoundingSadsbury Township is established
  3. 1730Born hereJohn Cochran is born here
  4. 19th century
  5. 1825Post officeThe Sadsburyville post office opens
  6. 1866Post officeThe Pomeroy post office opens
  7. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Chester County - Sadsbury - ED 15-…
  8. 20th century
  9. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Sadsbury Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sadsbury Township.

Read it all →

The township of Sadsbury was organized in 1717. In 1728, it was divided into West Sadsbury Township and East Sadsbury Township. East Sadsbury Township was reduced in size by the creation of Valley Township in 1852, the borough of Parkesburg in 1872 and the borough of Atglen in 1875. The final division came with the inception of West Sadsbury in 1878, with the remainder being Sadsbury Township in its current form.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Sadsbury Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Chester County - Sadsbury - ED 15-7718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …
1890s–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
Today5 recent
Sadsburyville Chesco PA 42015Sadsburyville Chesco PA 4Sadsburyville Chesco PA 32015Sadsburyville Chesco PA 3Sadsburyville Chesco PA 22015Sadsburyville Chesco PA 2Sadsburyville Chesco PA 12015Sadsburyville Chesco PA 1Sadsbury Twp Office Chesco PA2015Sadsbury Twp Office Chesco PA
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Chester County - Sadsbury - ED 15-77
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Chester County - Sadsbury - ED 15-77, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Sadsbury Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Sadsbury Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,500194019601980200020204,125

Grew from 1,071 people in 1930 to 4,125 in 2020, 3 times over.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sadsbury Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Sadsburyville
1825–today
Pomeroy
1866–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
PomeroyPomeroy HeightsSadsburyvilleState HillStottsvilleUpper Octoraro
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sadsbury Township
New Side PresbyterianUpper Octorara Church

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

West Sadsbury TownshipIts storyCParkesburg2 historic placesAValley Township3 historic placesA−West Caln Township3 historic placesB

Questions about Sadsbury Township’s history

What year was Sadsbury Township founded?

In 1717, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Sadsbury Township’s post office opened in 1825, and the census of 1930 counted 1,071 people here.

How does Sadsbury Township rank for history?

Sadsbury Township is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #593 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 Sadsbury Township?

11% of Sadsbury Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1996.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.