Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1812.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Shade Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shade Township is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shade 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 Shade Township’s 603 sits above most of its state (95% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 132 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points). Two sources give 1816.
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 Shade Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Shade Township is named after Shade Creek. The township was incorporated in 1816. It was first settled in 1772 and was formed from Stoneycreek Township, which was one of the six original townships in Somerset County.
Some of the earliest settlers were Caspar Statler, Jacob Moses, Daniel Gibler, Christian Brollier, and George Lambert. Christian Brollier built the township's first gristmill sometime before 1800, and George Lambert built the first sawmill about 1800. William Oldham built a sawmill in 1830, a gristmill in 1833, and Rockingham Furnace in 1841.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Shade Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1914Windber 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 Shade Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Shade Township
Nobody well known was born in Shade Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1816, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Shade Township’s post office opened in 1812.
How does Shade Township rank for history?
Shade Township is more historic than 96% 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.
What is on the National Register in Shade Township?
One place: the Cairnbrook Historic District (listed 1994).
How old are the homes in Shade Township?
33% of Shade Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1949.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
