On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Springfield Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #693 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 Springfield 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 Springfield Township’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 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 (±7.7 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 Springfield Township’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 Springfield Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1900Girard 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 Springfield Township.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
West Springfield
1838–today
North Springfield
1863–today
East Springfield
1866–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Center CornerEast SpringfieldNorth SpringfieldWest Springfield
Gone or out of use
Hammers Fieldairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Springfield Township
Cottage ChurchSpringfieldSpringfield
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Springfield's early history and development was tied to the construction of New York's Erie Canal in the early 19th century and the commerce that resulted from it. A notable example of its past is passage through Springfield for work related to the canal of James Hutchinson Woodworth, a former farmer and teacher from Onondaga County, New York, who was making his way west to Chicago, where he finally settled and eventually become mayor. William Blakely Holliday had a major impact on how the township was formed. He purchased land from the Native Americans in 1806 A.D. and eventually owned most of the eastern and northern parts of the township. The Holliday family still resides in North Springfield today.
What they wrote about Springfield Township in 1884
Passages that mention Springfield Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Erie county, Pennsylvania1884 · page 753Read the page →
Read the text
and costly pieces of work in the county. The embankment is ninety feet above the water, and from 700 to 800 feet long. It was through this culvert that a house was washed in the fall of 1878, during the greatest flood ever known on the stream. The manufacturing concerns of Springfield Township are Porter's grist and saw mill, on Conneaut Creek, half a mile north of Cherry Hill; H. V. Lines' grist and saw mill, on the Ridge road, a mile east of East Springfield; J. M. Strong's grist and saw mill, a mile north of East Springfield; Reed's saw mill, on the Ridge road, half a mile west of West Springfield; a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Erie county, Pennsylvania1884 · page 765Read the page →
Read the text
mill, on Conneaut Creek, in Springfield Township, are a little north of the village. Cherry Hill stands on high grouad, and the country about the village is cold, hard to work, and not very productive. The church was organized with about fifteen members, by Rev. J. W. Wilson, in 1858, and the building was erected the same year at a cost of |1,250. The society was attached to Albion Circuit till Lockport Circuit was formed, to which it now belongs.
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
Springfield Township, 1838 to 1919
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.
Springfield Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #693 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 Springfield Township?
26% of Springfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), 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.
2024
2024
2024
2024
2022
2015
2013
2009
