What drives Upper Mount Bethel Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Upper Mount Bethel Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #730 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Upper Mount Bethel 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 Mount Bethel 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 is a Census survey estimate (±7.8 points).
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 Mount Bethel 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
Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mount Bethel
1828–today
Stone Church
1831–1942
Slateford
1845–1957
Kautatinchunk
1850–1851
Johnsonville
1866–1917
North Bangor
1890–1909
Stiers
1917–1933
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Five PointsHartzells FerryHill YardMarshfield StationMount BethelNorth BangorSlatefordStierStone Church
Gone or out of use
Deckers FerrylocaleHartzells FerrylocaleMyeres FerrylocaleNorth Bangor StationbuildingQuarry JunctionlocaleQuarry Junction StationlocaleWolf School Number OneschoolWolf School Number Twoschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Upper Mount Bethel Township
RiverviewSaint VincentUnion
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Upper Mount Bethel Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Upper Mount Bethel Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Upper Mount Bethel Township on the map, 1891 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Upper Mount Bethel Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Delaware Water Gap 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 Mount Bethel Township.
The story
How Upper Mount Bethel Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Upper Mount Bethel Township.
Old Mount Bethel was one of the oldest settled areas in Northampton County. Included in its jurisdiction was the Old Hunter Settlement, founded by the Ulster Scots around 1730. The same year, Old Mount Bethel was erected a town.
After the Walking Purchase of 1737 between the William Penn family and the Lenape Delaware Indian tribes was completed, Old Mount Bethel was established in Bucks County.
In 1752, Bucks County was divided and Northampton County was established, placing Old Mount Bethel within the boundaries of Northampton County.
Questions about Upper Mount Bethel Township’s history
How does Upper Mount Bethel Township rank for history?
Upper Mount Bethel Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #730 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 Upper Mount Bethel Township?
24% of Upper Mount Bethel Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 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.
