The story
Read it all →How Salem Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Salem Township.
Lacawac was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Salem Township
Salem Township’s post office opened in 1811, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #748 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Below: maps from 1928 on.
1811first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Salem Township began
When was Salem Township founded?
1811
The Salem Township post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Salem (1811), Hamlinton (1829) and Hollisterville (1856), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 4,115215 years
How historic is Salem Township?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Salem Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Salem Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Salem Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #748 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 Salem Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1811, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194010.8% of homes (±4.5) · 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 50%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 28%
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 Salem 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.
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 (±4.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Salem Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Salem Township, and 8 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Salem Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1811: 215 years of Salem Township.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Salem
Hamlinton
Hollisterville
Ledge Dale
Arlington
Hamlin
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArlingtonBidwell HillHamlinHollistervilleLedgedaleLittle ChapelThe HideoutWallenpaupack Mills
Gone or out of use
Centerville Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Salem Township
HollistervilleSalem
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Salem Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Salem Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Salem Township, 1811 to 1935
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1811Post officeThe Salem post office opens
- 1829Post officeThe Salem post office closes
- 1829Post officeThe Hamlinton post office opens
- 1856Post officeThe Hollisterville post office opens
- 20th century
- 1909Post officeThe Hamlinton post office closes
- 1928
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1935Post officeThe Hollisterville 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 albumOn the map
Salem Township on the map, 1928 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Salem Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1928Ariel 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 Salem Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Salem Township
Nobody well known was born in Salem Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Sterling TownshipIts storyB−Greene Township2 historic placesB+Lake Wallenpaupack EstatesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIndian RocksIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPaupack Township1 historic placeBJefferson TownshipIts storyC−The EscapeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLake TownshipIts storyCPalmyra Township3 historic placesB+Madison TownshipIts storyC
Questions about Salem Township’s history
What year was Salem Township founded?
The Salem Township post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Salem Township rank for history?
Salem Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #748 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 Salem Township?
11% of Salem Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 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 Wikipedia, 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.