On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Spring City is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #679 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Spring City’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 Spring City’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 C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.2 points). Two sources give 1867.
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 Spring City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Spring City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Phoenixville 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 Spring City.
The story so far
Spring City, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Spring City yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Spring City is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,494 at the 2020 census. Spring City is a member of the Spring-Ford Area School District. It is situated along the Schuylkill River, which divides Chester and Montgomery counties. Directly across the river is the borough of Royersford.
Spring City was established in 1867. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,323 to 3,494 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Spring City in 1881
Passages that mention Spring City, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches1881 · page 205Read the page →
Read the text
The borough of Springville, on the Schuylkill River, was taken from the eastern part of East Vincent township and incorporated by a decree of court in 1867. In 1872 the name was changed to Spring City. This change was made so that the name of the town and post-office might be the same. The post-office at this place was originally called East Vincent, and when a change became desirable it was found that there was already an office called Springville in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches1881 · page 227Read the page →
Read the text
In 1867 the borough of Springville was incorporated, and became the Fifty-fifth Election District. Its name was subsequently changed to Spring City. In the same year the borough of Coatesville was incorporated from Valley township, and the elections in the said township and borough were directed to be held at schoolhouse No. 7, in Coatesville, the former place of holding the elections having been sold.
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
Spring City, 1850 to 1913
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.
In 1867, according to Wikidata. Spring City’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1880 counted 1,112 people here.
How does Spring City rank for history?
Spring City is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #679 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.
How old are the homes in Spring City?
46% of Spring City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1948.
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), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2024
2021
2021
2012