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Highacres1998Photo: Margaretta Lovell · CC BY-SA 4.0
CHistory
History · Sugarloaf Township

Sugarloaf Township’s post office opened in 1883

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #970 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Most of Sugarloaf Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1998 on and the census since 2000.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Sugarloaf Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Sugarloaf Township began

When was Sugarloaf Township founded?

1883

The Sugarloaf Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 3,652 in 20002020 census: 3,846143 years

How historic is Sugarloaf Township?

C

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Sugarloaf Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Sugarloaf Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sugarloaf Township is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #970 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sugarloaf Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1883, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.4% of homes (±5.4) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 26%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 6%

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 Sugarloaf 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Sugarloaf Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sugarloaf Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sugarloaf Township’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 viewHighacres1998: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Sugarloaf Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sugarloaf Township.

Read it all →

Present-day Sugarloaf Township was initially part of Newport Township (one of the original townships of Connecticut in Northeastern Pennsylvania). The first colonists established settlements close to the Susquehanna River and the territory that is now the Conyngham Valley remained virtually unchartered for quite some time.

The world first heard of the Conyngham Valley after the Sugarloaf massacre of 1780 in which roughly ten Americans were killed by a group of Native Americans and perhaps a handful of loyalists. After the skirmish, burial parties arrived in the valley to bury the slain soldiers. Settlers were attracted to the region from the stories they heard from those who visited the valley.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sugarloaf Township, 1837 to 1998

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Born hereStephen Decatur Engle is born here
  3. 1848Post officeThe Sybertsville post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Sugarloaf post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1998In the archiveHighacres1998
By decade

Sugarloaf Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Highacres19981998Highacres1998
Today10 recent
Sugarloaf Township, Luzerne County, PA Municipal Building, July 20262026Sugarloaf Township, Luzerne County, PA Municipal Buil…Brainerd Church, Sybertsville, PA, July 20262026Brainerd Church, Sybertsville, PA, July 2026Sugarloaf, PA post office, Feb. 20252025Sugarloaf, PA post office, Feb. 2025Red roofed building, Sugarloaf Township, Luzerne County, PA, Feb. 20252025Red roofed building, Sugarloaf Township, Luzerne Coun…Conyngham, PA cemetery, Feb. 20252025Conyngham, PA cemetery, Feb. 2025Butler Mountain from Conyngham-Drums Road, PA (2), Feb. 20252025Butler Mountain from Conyngham-Drums Road, PA (2), Fe…Butler Mountain from Conyngham-Drums Road, PA (1), Feb. 20252025Butler Mountain from Conyngham-Drums Road, PA (1), Fe…Little Nescopeck Creek looking upstream2014Little Nescopeck Creek looking upstreamLittle Nescopeck Creek looking downstream2014Little Nescopeck Creek looking downstreamMap of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Highlighting Sugarloaf Township2008Map of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Highlighting Suga…Map
People over time

Sugarloaf Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,50020002020Peak: 4,211

Between 3,652 and 4,211 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Sybertsville
1848–today
Sugarloaf
1883–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dippel ManorSybertsvilleTomhicken
1cemetery inside Sugarloaf Township
Brainerd Presbyterian

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Butler Township1 historic placeB−Hollenback TownshipIts storyC+Nescopeck Township1 historic placeA−Black Creek TownshipIts storyB+Hazle TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Sugarloaf Township’s history

What year was Sugarloaf Township founded?

The Sugarloaf Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Sugarloaf Township rank for history?

Sugarloaf Township is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #970 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 Sugarloaf Township?

8% of Sugarloaf Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (11), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.