On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Summit Township is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Summit 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 Summit Township’s 5.2 sits above most of its state (68% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±9.0 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 Summit Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Cold Spring SchoolschoolGangney SchoolschoolHandwork SchoolschoolLick Run SchoolschoolMeyersdale AirportairportSandy Hollow SchoolschoolSummit Post Officepost officeWalker Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Summit Township
ReformedUnion
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Summit Township on the map, 1921 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Summit Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1921Meyersdale 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 Summit Township.
Portions of Elk Lick and Brothersvalley Townships were taken to form Summit Township in 1842. Some of the first settlers in this area included John Trusel, John Klingaman, Peter Miller, Stephen Yoder, and John J. Beachly. Some of the companies operating coal mines in the area in the 1880s included the Baltimore & Cumberland Coal Co., the Cumberland & Elk Lick Coal Co., the Keystone Coal Co., and the Casselman Coal Co.
The W. Bollman and Company Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Summit Township is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns. 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 Summit Township?
One place: the Bollman, W., and Company Bridge (listed 1978).
How old are the homes in Summit Township?
35% of Summit Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1960.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
2008
