On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vernon Township is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #909 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vernon 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 Vernon 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 (±5.4 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 Vernon 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
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Watson Run
1880–1901
Kerrtown
1884–1900
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FredericksburgKeborts CornersKerrtownOnspaugh CornersWatson RunWest Vernon
Gone or out of use
Breckenridge SchoolschoolBrown Hill Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Vernon Township
AndrewsBreckenridgeDennyJohnstonQuigleyRoselawn Memorial GardensWatson Run
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Vernon Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Vernon Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Vernon Township is a township in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,310 at the 2020 census, down from 5,630 at the 2010 census. According to the township's website, Vernon Township is nicknamed the "Golden Link" due to its location between the county seat (Meadville) and the largest natural lake in the state (Conneaut Lake), as well as being the self-described business center of Crawford County.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 5,630 to 5,331 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Vernon Township in 1885
Passages that mention Vernon Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
history of crawford county, pennsylvania1885 · page 683Read the page →
Read the text
The only thickly settled region of Vernon Township is that which skirts the eastern boundary and lies contiguous to Meadville; Kerrtown, a village of several hundred people, adjoining and below the lower iron bridge which crosses French Creek into Meadville, was so called in honor of its proprietor.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
history of crawford county, pennsylvania1885 · page 681Read the page →
Read the text
Vernon Township shares with Mead the honor of the first settlement in Crawford. In 1788, when the primitive pioneer band of nine resolute men penetrated the Western wilderness, after a weary march, they reached their journey’s end on the 12th day of May, on the banks of French Creek, opposite the Cussewago. Their first evening was passed beneath the canopy of a spreading wild cherry tree on the east side of the stream near the present lower bridge. The next few days were spent in exploring the lands on either side of the creek. “ This lovely valley,” said Cornelius Van Horne, “ now redo-
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.
Timeline
Vernon Township, 1880 to 1923
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Vernon Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1923Meadville 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 Vernon Township.
People over time
Vernon Township, census by census
Between 5,310 and 5,630 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Vernon Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Vernon Township
Nobody well known was born in Vernon Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Vernon Township is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #909 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 Vernon Township?
13% of Vernon Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), 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.
