1 of Upper Chichester Township’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #770 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Chichester Friends Meetinghouse. Most of Upper Chichester Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1930.
What drives Upper Chichester Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Upper Chichester Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #770 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Upper Chichester 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 Upper Chichester Township’s 1.2 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±2.4 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 Upper Chichester Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Upper Chichester Township on the map, 1894 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Upper Chichester Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1894Chester 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 Upper Chichester Township.
The story
How Upper Chichester Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Upper Chichester Township.
The Lenni Lenape Indians were the earliest occupants of Upper Chichester. They erected several semi-permanent villages in the area tied to fishing and hunting cycles with some farming.
The Upper Chichester area was claimed by New Sweden in 1643 and the Dutch in 1654, but both nations were primarily interested in trading with the Lenni Lenape Indians.
The first European settlers to Upper Chichester were in 1681 under the Penn's Grant of land to William Penn from King Charles II. The first purchasers under Penn's authority were fourteen English and Welshmen, mostly Quakers.
Questions about Upper Chichester Township’s history
How does Upper Chichester Township rank for history?
Upper Chichester Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #770 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 Upper Chichester Township?
One place: the Chichester Friends Meetinghouse (listed 1973).
How old are the homes in Upper Chichester Township?
8% of Upper Chichester Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
