Upper Darby Township dates to 1653, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #133 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Lower Swedish Cabin, the Collen Brook Farm and the Sellers Hall. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Upper Darby Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Upper Darby Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #133 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Upper Darby 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 Darby Township’s 0.6 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1653.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size.
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 Upper Darby Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1650, the area that eventually became Upper Darby had been inhabited by the Lenape tribe of Native Americans for thousands of years. The Lenape were part of the larger late Woodland culture, living in longhouses and birch bark homes, and engaging in the type of agriculture featuring companion planting of the Three Sisters (winter squash, maize, and beans).
The first permanent Europeans settlers arrived in late 1653 with a group from New Sweden. Soon after, in 1655, New Sweden was taken over by the Dutch, and then came under English rule in October 1664 as part of England's overall conquest of New Amsterdam. The region was controlled as a possession of the English king until it was included in a large land grant to William Penn in 1681.
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 Upper Darby 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 Darby 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 viewUpper Darby, Pennsylvania. Signs over the Terminal Theatre, 1936
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Upper Darby Township’s page.
In 1653, according to Wikidata. Upper Darby Township’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1900 counted 3,821 people here.
How does Upper Darby Township rank for history?
Upper Darby Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #133 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 Darby Township?
Three places: the Lower Swedish Cabin (listed 1980), the Collen Brook Farm (1988) and the Sellers Hall (2018).
How old are the homes in Upper Darby Township?
33% of Upper Darby Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1948.
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 Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
Date?
