2 of Southampton Township’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #789 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listings are the McClay's Twin Bridge (East) and the McClay's Twin Bridge (West). Most of Southampton Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1923 on and the census since 2000.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Southampton Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #789 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Southampton 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 Southampton Township’s 2.3 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±3.0 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 Southampton 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 and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mongul
1882–1907
Pinola
1897–1899
Stonypoint
1911–1934
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MainsvilleMongulMount RockPinola
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Southampton Township
Clearfield Old Order MennoniteMongulMount Rock ChurchMyersRoweRowe MennoniteShippensburg Christian Fellowship
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Southampton Township on the map, 1923 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Southampton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1923Shippensburg 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 Southampton Township.
The story so far
Southampton Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Southampton Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Southampton Township is a township that is located in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,566 at the time of the 2020 census, an increase from the figure of 6,138 that was documented by the 2000 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 7,987 to 8,566 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Southampton Township in 1887
Passages that mention Southampton Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Franklin county, Pennsylvania1887 · page 315Read the page →
Read the text
mile and a half farther south than the old one. The church near Brown's Mill was erected years ago. It was discontinued and a new one built, in 1867, about one mile north of Marion, on the road leading from that place to Chambersburg. In 1860 another church was erected in Southampton Township, at the lower end of Culbertson's Row, and is known as the Row Church. It is near the Southampton Station, on the Baltimore & Cumberland Valley Railroad extension.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Mill was erected years ago. It was discontinued and a new one built, in 1867, about one mile north of Marion, on the road leading from that place to Chambersburg. In 1860 another church was erected in Southampton Township, at the lower end of Culbertson's Row, and is known as the Row Church. It is near the Southampton Station, on the Baltimore & Cumberland Valley Railroad extension.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
moved to Southampton Township, where he farmed until 1861 on Adam Shoemaker’s farm. He then purchased his present farm, formerly owned by P. M. and J. Huffman, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits actively until 1882. Mrs. Taylor died May 31, 1876, the mother of five sons and three.
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
Southampton Township, 1882 to 1934
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Southampton Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #789 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 Southampton Township?
Two places: the McClay's Twin Bridge (East) (listed 1988) and the McClay's Twin Bridge (West) (1988).
How old are the homes in Southampton Township?
7% of Southampton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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