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A−History
History · Souderton

Souderton dates to 1887, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #255 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 485 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1890.

1887founded
1on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Souderton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Souderton began

When was Souderton founded?

1887

Souderton dates its founding to 1887 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 679 in 18902020 census: 7,191139 years

How historic is Souderton?

A−

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Souderton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Souderton is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #255 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Souderton’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194029.5% of homes (±5.2) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 485 historic buildings, 675 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 75%

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 Souderton’s 675 sits above most of its state (95% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 485 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% 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 (±5.2 points). Two sources give 1887.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Souderton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Souderton Historic District takes in 485 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18887 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Souderton change.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1908 to 1924, drew every building in Souderton.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 485 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
485
each building in a district counts
first listed
2011
Souderton Historic District
Souderton Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Early Republic1
Federal1
Late Victorian1
Gothic Revival1
Italianate1
Second Empire1
All 1 listings
Souderton Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011

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

Help out

Start Souderton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNational Union Bank 24 North Main Street: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Souderton on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Souderton on the 1888 USGS mapSouderton on the 1890 USGS mapSouderton on the 1943 USGS mapSouderton on the 1953 USGS mapSouderton on the 1960 USGS mapSouderton on the 1973 USGS mapSouderton on the 1995 USGS map1888Quakertown 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 Souderton.

The story

How Souderton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Souderton.

Read it all →

Souderton occupies a land that was historically inhabited by the Lenni Lenape for thousands of years. The first Welsh settlers, John Mathias and Thomas Morgan, established their settlement in the vicinity around 1710, near the intersection of School Lane and Chestnut Street where Souderton stands today. The town was originally named Welshtown, because of its Welsh influence.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Souderton, 1884–1923

Passages that mention Souderton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The village of Souderton is situated on the line of the North Pennsylvania Railroad and about twentyseven miles distant from Philadelphia. It contains over one hundred residences, with all the industries and commercial thrift that mark the enterprising towns along this line of railroad from Philade…
History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania1884 · page 830Read the page →
Read the text

The village of Souderton is situated on the line of the North Pennsylvania Railroad and about twentyseven miles distant from Philadelphia. It contains over one hundred residences, with all the industries and commercial thrift that mark the enterprising towns along this line of railroad from Philadelphia to Bethlehem. The Union National Bank of Souderton is located here. It was established in 1876 with

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
breadth of the township for a distance of nearly five miles. The turnpike i'rom Lederachsville to Harleysville, one and a half miles in length, was completed in 1868, and from the latter place to Souderton, on the North Pennsylvania Railroad, in 1865. The villages are Harleysville, Lederachsville a…
History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania1884 · page 947Read the page →
Read the text

breadth of the township for a distance of nearly five miles. The turnpike i'rom Lederachsville to Harleysville, one and a half miles in length, was completed in 1868, and from the latter place to Souderton, on the North Pennsylvania Railroad, in 1865. The villages are Harleysville, Lederachsville and Mainland, each possessing a post-office. The population of Lower Salford, in ISOO, was 524; in 1840, 1141; and

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Franconia Square and Franconiaville, old settlements of ar¬ rested growth, have been far outstripped by the youthful boroughs along the railroad. Souderton in 1849 was marked on the map, Souder’s Lumberyard. The nearest post office, Bilger’s, was west of the cowpath road on the road leading from Fr…
A brief history of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with an accompanying map1923 · page 186Read the page →
Read the text

Franconia Square and Franconiaville, old settlements of ar¬ rested growth, have been far outstripped by the youthful boroughs along the railroad. Souderton in 1849 was marked on the map, Souder’s Lumberyard. The nearest post office, Bilger’s, was west of the cowpath road on the road leading from Franconia Square to Telford on the county line which has been making history wellnigh two-hundred years. The name cowpath road harks back to the day when the cattle of the Welsh pidneers wandered through

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

Souderton, 1858 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Born hereHenry Appenzeller is born here
  3. 1876In the archiveNational Union Bank 24 North Main Street
  4. 1887
    FoundingSouderton is established
  5. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1894In the archiveSouderton, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1894
  7. 20th century
  8. 1923In the archiveSouderton PA Zwengli Reformed PHS576
  9. 1933Born hereRobert Godshall is born here
  10. 1991Born hereJake Metz is born here
By decade

Souderton, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1920s4 items
National Union Bank 24 North Main Streetc. 1876National Union Bank 24 North Main StreetSouderton, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 18941894Souderton, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1894Souderton, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 18941894Souderton, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1894Souderton PA Zwengli Reformed PHS5761923Souderton PA Zwengli Reformed PHS576
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
PickerelFrogPA2009PickerelFrogPAUnivestGP2007UnivestGP
Every building

Souderton, building by building, 1908–1924

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Souderton fire insurance map, 1908, sheet 11908Sheet 1 of 7
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

National Union Bank 24 North Main Street
Retake this viewNational Union Bank 24 North Main Street, c. 1876

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Souderton, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00019001920194019601980200020207,191

Grew from 679 people in 1890 to 7,191 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Souderton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Henry AppenzellerAmerican Methodist missionary · b. 1858
R
Robert GodshallAmerican politician · b. 1933
J
Jake MetzAmerican football player · b. 1991
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Franconia Township2 historic placesBTelfordIts storyB+

Questions about Souderton’s history

What year was Souderton founded?

In 1887, according to Wikidata. the census of 1890 counted 679 people here.

How does Souderton rank for history?

Souderton is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #255 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 Souderton?

One place: the Souderton Historic District (listed 2011).

How old are the homes in Souderton?

30% of Souderton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1959.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.