Susquehanna Township’s post office opened in 1844, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #366 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Susquehanna Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1940.
From Susquehanna Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Susquehanna Township began, and where its name came from
When was Susquehanna Township founded?
1844
The Susquehanna Township post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Susquehanna (1844), Progress (1862) and Lucknow (1905), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 8,716 in 19402020 census: 26,736182 years
How did Susquehanna Township get its name?
Susquehanna Township was named from the Susquehanna River which runs along its western edge.
How historic is Susquehanna Township?
A−
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Susquehanna Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #366 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Susquehanna 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 Susquehanna Township’s 13.6 sits above most of its state (80% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 37 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Susquehanna 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 Susquehanna Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Harrisburg 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 Susquehanna Township.
Susquehanna Township is located adjacent to the city of Harrisburg in Dauphin County. It was named from the Susquehanna River which runs along its western edge.
On June 4, 1785, the state legislature created Dauphin County from part of Lancaster County. By that time, the territory of today's Dauphin County had been divided among the townships of Derry, Londonderry, Lower Paxtang and Upper Paxtang. The spelling "Paxtang" is from the original Indian name Peshtank, which meant "standing water" and further morphed into "Paxton." Susquehanna Township was incorporated from part of Lower Paxtang on May 1, 1815.
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.
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.
The Susquehanna Township post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Susquehanna Township rank for history?
Susquehanna Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #366 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 Susquehanna Township?
4 listings: 2 buildings, 1 historic district, the Fort Hunter Historic District, with 6 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 37 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Susquehanna Township?
8% of Susquehanna Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
2025
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2014
