The Smithfield Township post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name. Six smaller post offices, Smithfield (1818), North Smithfield (1830) and Smithfield Summit (1860), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,457208 years
How historic is Smithfield Township?
B+
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Smithfield Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Smithfield Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Smithfield Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Smithfield 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 Smithfield 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 B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.8 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 Smithfield Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Smithfield Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Smithfield Township is a township in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 1,457 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1818. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,498 to 1,457 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Smithfield Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1939Sayre 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 Smithfield Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Smithfield Township post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Smithfield Township rank for history?
Smithfield Township is more historic than 70% 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 Smithfield Township?
30% of Smithfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
