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History · Venango Township

Venango Township dates to 1838, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1923 on, and the census since 1870.

1838founded
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Venango Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Venango Township began

When was Venango Township founded?

1838

Venango Township dates its founding to 1838 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 318 in 18702020 census: 946188 years
Founding year: Wikidata.

What stands out about Venango 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1838: 188 years of Venango Township.On the map since 19234 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1975. Watch Venango Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Venango Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHistoric highways of America (Volume 5)…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Venango Township, 1838 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838
    FoundingVenango Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903In the archiveHistoric highways of America (Volume 5) - II
  5. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Venango Township on the map, 1923 to 1975

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

Venango Township on the 1923 USGS mapVenango Township on the 1943 USGS mapVenango Township on the 1968 USGS mapVenango Township on the 1975 USGS map1923Cambridge Springs 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 Venango Township.

The story so far

Venango Township, in brief

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

Venango is a borough in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 210 at the 2020 census, down from 239 at the 2010 census, down from 288 in 2000.

Venango Township was established in 1838. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 997 to 946 (-5%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Venango Township in 1885

Passages that mention Venango Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

George Newton, of Corning, N. Y. Here he continued one year, when he withdrew to Greene County and engaged in the tan bark business, following the same two years, and then worked on a farm one year. In 1836 he came by canal to Buffalo, by lake to Erie City, and by stage to Venango Township, this co…
History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania1885 · page 969Read the page →
Read the text

George Newton, of Corning, N. Y. Here he continued one year, when he withdrew to Greene County and engaged in the tan bark business, following the same two years, and then worked on a farm one year. In 1836 he came by canal to Buffalo, by lake to Erie City, and by stage to Venango Township, this county, and there took employment in the Klecknei*8aw-mill, at which he was engaged for four years. While there he built the first house in the village of Venango, soon after having helped to lay out the place. In 1840 Mr.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
living: Laurin L., of Titusville; Isaiah, in McKean County; Paul and Franklin. Cirrel Hills first settled in Cussewago Township on a part of the farm now owned by James Nash; he afterward bought the farm now owned by Calvin Waldo, and in 1839 came to Venango Township and located on the farm now occ…
History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania1885 · page 1116Read the page →
Read the text

living: Laurin L., of Titusville; Isaiah, in McKean County; Paul and Franklin. Cirrel Hills first settled in Cussewago Township on a part of the farm now owned by James Nash; he afterward bought the farm now owned by Calvin Waldo, and in 1839 came to Venango Township and located on the farm now occupied by our subject, where he remained one year. He then sold his place and went to Michigan, but after an absence of nearly a year returned to this township and repurchased the property he had sold the year previous; this he cleared, improved and lived on till his death, which occurred iu February,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
northwest corner of Athens, the western part of Bloomfield, the south part of Cambridge, and all of Rockdale that lies east of French Creek. The township was re-formed almost as it now exists in 1829, the portion west of French Creek having been part of Venango Township previous to that date. Itis …
history of crawford county, pennsylvania1885 · page 608Read the page →
Read the text

northwest corner of Athens, the western part of Bloomfield, the south part of Cambridge, and all of Rockdale that lies east of French Creek. The township was re-formed almost as it now exists in 1829, the portion west of French Creek having been part of Venango Township previous to that date. Itis one of the northern townships, bounded on the north by Erie County, on the east by Bloomfield Township and a corner of Athens, on the south by Richmond and on the west by Cambridge. It contains 20,953 acres, and in 1850 had a population of 1,086; in 1860, of 1,638; in 1870, of 1,664; in 1880, of 1,603.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Venango Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Historic highways of America (Volume 5) - II1903Historic highways of America (Volume 5) - II
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
Venango Borough, PA post office, June 20242024Venango Borough, PA post office, June 2024Venango Borough, PA general store, June 20242024Venango Borough, PA general store, June 2024US 6-19 sb in Venango Borough, PA (3), June 20242024US 6-19 sb in Venango Borough, PA (3), June 2024US 6-19 sb in Venango Borough, PA (2), June 20242024US 6-19 sb in Venango Borough, PA (2), June 2024US 6-19 sb in Venango Borough, PA (1), June 20242024US 6-19 sb in Venango Borough, PA (1), June 2024US 6-19 sb entering Venango Borough, PA, June 20242024US 6-19 sb entering Venango Borough, PA, June 2024US Route 6 - Pennsylvania2006US Route 6 - PennsylvaniaUS Route 6 - Pennsylvania2006US Route 6 - Pennsylvania
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.

Historic highways of America (Volume 5) - II
Retake this viewHistoric highways of America (Volume 5) - II, 1903

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Venango Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Venango Township, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 359

Between 212 and 359 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Venango Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Skeltontown
Gone or out of use
Rolling Acres Farm Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Venango Township
SkeltontownVenango

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Cambridge Township1 historic placeACussewago TownshipIts storyB−VenangoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashington TownshipIts storyCHayfield Township1 historic placeB−

Questions about Venango Township’s history

What year was Venango Township founded?

In 1838, according to Wikidata. the census of 1870 counted 318 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (9), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.