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B+History
History · Salisbury Township

Salisbury Township dates to 1794, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #404 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Kemmerer House, the Bogert Covered Bridge and the Wehr Covered Bridge. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1870.

1794founded
3on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Salisbury Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Salisbury Township began

When was Salisbury Township founded?

1794

Salisbury Township dates its founding to 1794 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 291 in 18702020 census: 13,621232 years

How historic is Salisbury Township?

B+

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Salisbury Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Salisbury Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #404 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Salisbury Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1794, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194013.8% of homes (±3.7) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register3 listings, 2.2 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 61%

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 Salisbury Township’s 2.2 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1794.
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 (±3.7 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 Salisbury 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 18947 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1992. Watch Salisbury Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 980 in 1900; 706 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1794: 232 years of Salisbury Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Salisbury Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSalisbury PA: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Salisbury Township on the map, 1894 to 1992

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

Salisbury Township on the 1894 USGS mapSalisbury Township on the 1939 USGS mapSalisbury Township on the 1957 USGS mapSalisbury Township on the 1964 USGS mapSalisbury Township on the 1972 USGS mapSalisbury Township on the 1983 USGS mapSalisbury Township on the 1992 USGS map1894Allentown 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 Salisbury Township.

People over time

Salisbury Township, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 980

Peaked at 980 in 1900; 706 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story

How Salisbury Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Salisbury Township.

Read it all →

Salisbury was laid out by Joseph Markley in 1794, with Douglas Baker as the surveyor. Peter Shirer and Martin Weimer built the first house, and Peter Shirer was also the first storekeeper. Peter Shirer and Peter Welfley added more lots to the town circa 1814, John Smith added more in about 1850, and the Beachy family added still more in 1870. The town, located on the Turkey Foot Road, was organized as a borough in 1862.

In 1998, Salisbury was hit by two F3 tornadoes on May 31 and June 2. The May 31 tornado killed one person and injured 15 others and the June 2 tornado intensified into an F4 tornado when it struck Allegany County, Maryland.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Salisbury Township, 1794 to 1900

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1794
    FoundingSalisbury Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1841BuiltWehr Covered Bridge is built
  5. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 980
By decade

Salisbury Township, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Salisbury PADate?Salisbury PA
Today4 recent
US 219 nb in Salisbury, PA (2), Aug. 20242024US 219 nb in Salisbury, PA (2), Aug. 2024US 219 nb in Salisbury, PA (1), Aug. 20242024US 219 nb in Salisbury, PA (1), Aug. 2024Salisbury, PA post office, Aug. 20242024Salisbury, PA post office, Aug. 2024Grant from Ord in2013Grant from Ord in
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.

Salisbury PA
Retake this viewSalisbury PA

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Salisbury Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Kemmerer House
Kemmerer HouseBogert Covered BridgeWehr Covered Bridge, built 1841
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Burr Truss2
Georgian1
Kemmerer HouseGeorgian
Bogert Covered BridgeBurr Truss
Wehr Covered BridgeBurr Truss · Built 1841

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
FarmingtonGauff HillOverlook Springs
Gone or out of use
Gruver SchoolschoolWashington Schoolschool
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Salisbury Township
Agudath AchimBrith SholomBrith Sholom Cemetery OldEmil ZolaFountain HillGreen Meadow at Fountain HillJerusalem Western Salisbury ChurchMorgenland

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.

Allentown16 historic placesA+Fountain Hill1 historic placeA−Upper Saucon Township1 historic placeBDorneyville3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEmmaus3 historic placesABethlehem22 historic placesA+Upper Milford Township1 historic placeBSouth Whitehall Township3 historic placesB+Lower Macungie Township1 historic placeC+

Questions about Salisbury Township’s history

What year was Salisbury Township founded?

In 1794, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1870 counted 291 people here.

How does Salisbury Township rank for history?

Salisbury Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #404 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.

What is on the National Register in Salisbury Township?

Three places: the Kemmerer House (listed 1977), the Bogert Covered Bridge (1980) and the Wehr Covered Bridge (1980).

How old are the homes in Salisbury Township?

14% of Salisbury Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.