14% of Somerset Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #350 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Wright, Cerl, Covered Bridge and the Huffman Distillery and Chopping Mill. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1800.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Somerset Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #350 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Somerset 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 Somerset Township’s 19.6 sits above most of its state (82% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Somerset Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Somerset Township
Emmanuel United PresbyterianPigeon Creek
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Somerset Township on the map, 1901 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Somerset Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1901Amity 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 Somerset Township.
Somerset was a central stage for the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. Several rebellion leaders, including Harmon Husband, lived in Somerset. The federal militia sent to put down the rebellion worked from its headquarters in the nearby town of Berlin.
A major fire on the afternoon of May 9, 1872, destroyed a significant portion of the town within just a few hours.
In July 2002, nine miners were trapped for 77 hours, 240 feet (73 m) underground, by flooding in the Quecreek coal mine, just outside Somerset. All nine miners were rescued. The Quecreek Mine Rescue was chronicled by journalists from around the world and was televised globally.
Passages that mention Somerset Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
20th century history of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania1910 · page 867Read the page →
Read the text
In the district schools of Somerset Township, Mr. Sprowls obtained the educational training that enabled him to become a teacher and for about 15 years he taught school through the county and was numbered with I he successful educators of his day. He then settled down to farming in Somerset Township and engaged in the stock business at Bentleyville and remained on his farm until April, 1908. Mr. Sprowls
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
20th century history of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania1910 · page 1180Read the page →
Read the text
West Bethlehem Township and later in Somerset Township. He then engaged in farming, working by the month until his marriage, in 1879. Afterwards he rented a farm on Pigeon Creek in Somerset Township for one year moving from there to near Clokeyville, in North Strabane Township, where he lived five years. Five more years were passed on a farm in South Strabane Township and then he located near Mt. Pleasant Church
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Somerset Township, 1832 to 1999
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Somerset Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #350 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 Somerset Township?
Two places: the Wright, Cerl, Covered Bridge (listed 1979) and the Huffman Distillery and Chopping Mill (1992).
How old are the homes in Somerset Township?
14% of Somerset Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1967.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
c. 1930
c. 1930
c. 1930
