Thornbury Township dates to 1685, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #155 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 65 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1930.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Thornbury Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Thornbury Township is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #155 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Thornbury 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 Thornbury Township’s 101 sits above most of its state (89% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 70 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1685.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 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 Thornbury Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Cheyney's Shops, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Cheyney's Shops
1828–1837
Thornton
1829–today
Cheyney
1859–today
Glen Mills
1859–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Carriages at CobblestonesCheyneyCobblestones at ThornburyDilworthtown WoodsFox LairGlen MillsGreenbriar at ThornburyLocksleyLocksley CrossingMemel FarmsTanguyThornbury HuntThorntonWoods at Sweetwater
Gone or out of use
Glen Mills Quarrymine
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Thornbury Township
Bethlehem United Methodist ChurchStonybank Methodist ChurchThornbury African Methodist Episcopal
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Thornbury Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Thornbury Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Thornbury Township lies in the drainage area of the Delaware River, named in honor of Thomas West, governor of the colony of Virginia. The river and its bay were explored by Henry Hudson in 1609, and over the next several decades the region was variously claimed by the Swedes, the Dutch, and the English. Its original human inhabitants were the Lenni-Lenape tribe of American Indians.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Thornbury Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1901West Chester 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 Thornbury Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Delaware County - Thornbury - ED 23-172A, ED 23-172B, ED 23-173, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Thornbury Township’s page.
In 1685, according to Wikidata. Thornbury Township’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1930 counted 1,504 people here.
How does Thornbury Township rank for history?
Thornbury Township is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #155 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 Thornbury Township?
4 listings: 2 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Chester Creek Historic District and the Thornton Village Historic District, with 65 contributing buildings. 70 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Thornbury Township?
13% of Thornbury Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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