Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1870.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Telford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Telford is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #413 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Telford’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 Telford’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1719.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points).
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 Telford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally inhabited by the Lenape people, the area surrounding Telford began to be settled in 1719 by Mennonites from the Palatinate of the Rhine. In 1857, the town known as County Line, the area that had previously been known as Hendrick's Blacksmith, changed its name to Telford after the North Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which was later absorbed into Reading Railroad, named its new station there after civil engineer Thomas Telford.
Passages that mention Telford, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania1923 · page 183Read the page →
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The Telford National Bank, located in the village of Telford, was established in 1908 by a committee appointed for that purpose. Its first officers were Edwin C. Leidy and James Fravel. The first business was that transacted with a capital of $25,000. The present capital is $50,000 and there is also a surplus of $50,000 more. The recent deposits amount to $650,000. Their report for December, 1922, shows resources amounting to the sum of $811,631.40. In 1908 a splendid bank building was erected of brick, at an expense of $18,000. The 1923 officers are Edwin
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania1884 · page 830Read the page →
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The villages of this townsliij) are Fnmcoiiia Square, near the centre ; Franconiaville, in the soutbern end of the township ; and Souderton and Telford, situated on the line of the railroad, in the eastern portion of the townshi]). The post-offices are Franeonia, Gehman's, Souderton and Telford.
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Montgomery County, Pennsylvania1923 · page 299Read the page →
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The villages and boroughs made up from the territory of the townships are as follows : Franconia Square, near the center ; Franconiaville, in the southern part; and Souderton and Telford, situated on the line of the railroad in the eastern portion of the township. The two last-named are now sprightly incorporated boroughs, of which see chapter of boroughs, within this work. Concerning Franconia Square and Franconiaville, it only needs to be said that these old landmarks were founded by the opening of hotels, a few stores and shops, with a post office in each
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A brief history of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with an accompanying map1923 · page 186Read the page →
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along the railroad. Souderton in 1849 was marked on the map, Souder’s Lumberyard. The nearest post office, Bilger’s, was west of the cowpath road on the road leading from Franconia Square to Telford on the county line which has been making history wellnigh two-hundred years. The name cowpath road harks back to the day when the cattle of the Welsh pidneers wandered through the forests to pasture land. The oldest churches of the community are the Franconia Mennonite that erected its first meeting house
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.
By decade
Telford, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 1719, according to Wikidata. Telford’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1890 counted 125 people here.
How does Telford rank for history?
Telford is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #413 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 Telford?
21% of Telford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1966.
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, 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.
![The villages of this townsliij) are Fnmcoiiia Square, near the centre ; Franconiaville, in the soutbern end of the township ; and Souderton and Telford, situated on the line of the railroad, in the eastern portion of the townshi]). The post-offices are Franeonia, Gehman's, Souderton and Telford.](https://images.townratings.com/story/15162/bk-394064dcc4469150-l.jpg)
1894
1894
1894
1894
2025
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2014
2012