On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Towamensing Township is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #1,011 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 Towamensing 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 Towamensing 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size.
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 Towamensing 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
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Stembersville
1851–1906
Carbon
1857–1914
Hatchery
1899–1933
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
JonesvilleStemlersvilleTrachsville
Gone or out of use
HatcherylocaleKibler SchoolschoolLovett SchoolschoolPierce SchoolschoolUpper Pine Run Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Towamensing Township
Jerusalem LutheranJerusalem Union
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Towamensing Township on the map, 1922 to 1997
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Towamensing Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1922Lehighton 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 Towamensing Township.
The story so far
Towamensing Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Towamensing Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Towamensing Township is a lightly populated rural township in eastern Carbon County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Lenape Indian tribe's name is eponymous and was once applied by the natives to the whole region of Carbon County and bits of the Poconos to the north (Luzerne County) and to Schuylkill County (southwest). The population was 4,477 at the 2010 census, up from 3,475 at the 2000 census. A portion of Beltzville State Park is in the township. The film franchise Hell House, LLC was filmed in Towamensing Township at the fictitious Abaddon Hotel, which in reality is the Waldorf Estate of Fear haunted house attraction located on Route 209.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 4,477 in 2010, 4,427 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Towamensing Township, 1851 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Towamensing Township is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #1,011 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 Towamensing Township?
5% of Towamensing 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 1987.
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 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.
