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B+History
History · Ulster Township

Ulster Township dates to 1785, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1939 on.

1785founded
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Adam Moss from East Amherst, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Ulster Township began, and where its name came from

When was Ulster Township founded?

1785

Ulster Township dates its founding to 1785 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1821.

2020 census: 1,310241 years

How did Ulster Township get its name?

Ulster Township was named after the province of Ulster in Ireland.

How historic is Ulster Township?

B+

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1821. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
History grade

What drives Ulster Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ulster Township is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ulster Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1785, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194038.3% of homes (±9.2) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational 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 74%
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 Ulster 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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1785.
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 (±9.2 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 Ulster 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 writtenNo old photos of Ulster Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Ulster Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1785: 241 years of Ulster Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ulster Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Ulster
1821–today
Milan
1838–today
Saco
1890–1901
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MilanSacoUlster
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ulster Township
MilanSacoUlster Catholic / Immaculate ConceptionUlster

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

Timeline

Ulster Township, 1785 to 1939

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1785
    FoundingUlster Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1807Born hereHenry Wells Tracy is born here
  5. 1821Post officeThe Ulster post office opens
  6. 1838Post officeThe Milan post office opens
  7. 1890Post officeThe Saco post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1901Post officeThe Saco post office closes
  10. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Ulster Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ulster Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ulster Township is a township in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 1,337 at the 2010 census. It was named after the province of Ulster in Ireland.

Ulster Township was established in 1785. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,337 to 1,310 (-2%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Ulster Township on the map, 1939 to 1969

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

Ulster Township on the 1939 USGS mapUlster Township on the 1942 USGS mapUlster Township on the 1957 USGS mapUlster Township on the 1969 USGS map1939Sayre 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 Ulster Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sheshequin Township1 historic placeA−Smithfield TownshipIts storyB+Burlington Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAthens Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Ulster Township’s history

What year was Ulster Township founded?

In 1785, according to Wikidata. Ulster Township’s post office opened in 1821.

How does Ulster Township rank for history?

Ulster Township is more historic than 74% 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 Ulster Township?

38% of Ulster Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.