Upper Saucon Township’s post office opened in 1820, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #651 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Upper Saucon Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Its Register listing is the Centennial Bridge. Below: maps from 1894 on.
The Upper Saucon Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Upper Saucon (1820), Saucon Valley (1841) and Lanark (1862), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 16,973206 years
How historic is Upper Saucon Township?
B
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Upper Saucon Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Upper Saucon Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Upper Saucon Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #651 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Upper Saucon 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 Saucon Township’s 0.6 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Saucon Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Upper Saucon Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1894Allentown 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 Saucon Township.
The story so far
Upper Saucon Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Upper Saucon Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its first post office opened in 1820. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 14,808 to 16,973 (+15%).
Timeline
Upper Saucon Township, 1820 to 1894
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Upper Saucon Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Upper Saucon Township rank for history?
Upper Saucon Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #651 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 Saucon Township?
One place: the Centennial Bridge (listed 1988).
How old are the homes in Upper Saucon Township?
6% of Upper Saucon 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 1987.
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), 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.