South Whitehall Township dates to 1810, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #482 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of South Whitehall Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Its Register listings are the Dorneyville Crossroad Settlement, the Manasses Guth Covered Bridge and the Haines Mill. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1830.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives South Whitehall Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Whitehall Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #482 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Whitehall 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 South Whitehall Township’s 1.9 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1810.
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 South Whitehall Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
12 other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
South Whitehall
1830–1895
Somerville
1833–1837
Shoenersville
1854–1907
Wennersville
1862–1871
Guth's Station
1871–1907
Stetlersville
1884–1954
Seiples
1887–1892
Cetronia
1888–1907
Minnich
1890–1904
Ringers
1893–1904
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bungalow ParkCedarbrook County HomeCetroniaCrackersportDorneyvilleEckertGreenawaldsGuthGuthsvilleHillsideHilltownMechanicsvilleMetamora StationMeyersvillePark Way ManorParkside CourtsScherersvilleSeipleSterlingworthStetlersvilleWalbertWennersvilleWestwood HeightsWoodlawn
Gone or out of use
Nash Airportairport
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside South Whitehall Township
Cedar ChurchGods Bible Holiness ChurchGrandviewJordan Lutheran Cemetery - NewJordan United Church of ChristKeneseth Israel
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start South Whitehall Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Whitehall Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of South Whitehall Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Slatington 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 South Whitehall Township.
The story
How South Whitehall Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of South Whitehall Township.
The first settlers of the Lehigh Valley region were Germans, who emigrated from earlier settlements along Perkiomen Creek in present-day Lehigh and Montgomery counties. German settlers began arriving in present-day South Whitehall Township over a 20-year period beginning in about 1732. The immigration of the Germans and other European natives, including the Swiss and Huguenots, was aided by William Penn and his friends. The land lying south of South Mountain was given to William Penn in 1713 by the Lenape Native American tribe. The land of Lehigh County between Blue Mountain and Lehigh Mountain was granted to Penn's sons by the Lenape in 1732. European emigrants were drawn to the area because of its reputation for fertile land and its limestone flanking rivers and streams, including present-day Jordan Creek.
Questions about South Whitehall Township’s history
What year was South Whitehall Township founded?
In 1810, according to Wikidata. South Whitehall Township’s post office opened in 1830, and the census of 2000 counted 18,028 people here.
How does South Whitehall Township rank for history?
South Whitehall Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #482 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 South Whitehall Township?
Three places: the Dorneyville Crossroad Settlement (listed 1977), the Manasses Guth Covered Bridge (1980) and the Haines Mill (1981).
How old are the homes in South Whitehall Township?
10% of South Whitehall Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
