History · Troy Township

Troy Township dates to 1845, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1931 on, and the census since 1850.

1845founded

0on the National Register

22%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

Add an old photo Share a memory

Photo: User:Dincher · CC BY-SA 3.0

Quick answers

How Troy Township began

When was Troy Township founded?

1845

Troy Township dates its founding to 1845 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 480 in 18502020 census: 1,585181 years

How historic is Troy Township?

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Troy Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Troy Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Troy Township’s overall grade.

Founding era1845, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194022.4% of homes (±4.6) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%

NewerOlder

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 Troy 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 points). Two sources give 1845.

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 Troy Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1845: 181 years of Troy Township.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Troy Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Troy Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewTroy PA 1st Presby PHS608: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Timeline

Troy Township, 1845 to 1931

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1845
FoundingTroy Township is established
1851Post officeThe East Troy post office opens
20th century
1904Post officeThe East Troy post office closes
1923In the archiveTroy PA 1st Presby PHS608
1931On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

The story

How Troy Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Troy Township.

Read it all →

The borough of Troy was incorporated in 1845 from Troy Township, which encircles the borough. Originally part of Luzerne County, the borough's future location (called Lansingburgh) became part of Ontario (now Bradford) County when it was created in 1810. The Troy Public High School and Van Dyne Civic Building are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Troy Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item

1923Troy PA 1st Presby PHS608

1930s–1990snothing yet

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.

Add from your album

Today9 recent

2010Troy, Pennsylvania

2008Troy Borough Hall-1

2007END PA 514 in

On the map

Troy Township on the map, 1931 to 1999

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Troy Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1931Troy 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 Troy 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 viewTroy PA 1st Presby PHS608, 1923

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Troy Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Troy Township, census by census

Between 480 and 1,508 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Troy Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, East Troy, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map

East TroyFarmers Valley

7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Troy Township

BallardCaseEast TroyGlenwoodHiltonHuntOak Hill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Springfield TownshipIts storyB⁺Granville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Armenia TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town West Burlington Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Columbia TownshipIts storyB Canton TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Troy Township’s history

What year was Troy Township founded?

In 1845, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Troy Township’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1850 counted 480 people here.

How does Troy Township rank for history?

Troy Township is more historic than 64% 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.

How old are the homes in Troy Township?

22% of Troy Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1979.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (10), 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.

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