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AHistory
History · Washington Township

24% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #158 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: 33 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1980.

5on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
33old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Washington Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Washington Township’s history

How historic is Washington Township?

A

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Washington Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washington Township is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #158 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Washington Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194023.6% of homes (±13.6) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register5 listings, 16 historic buildings, 35.5 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 92%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 85%

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 Washington Township’s 35.5 sits above most of its state (85% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% 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 (±13.6 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 Washington Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos33 old photos, postcards and papers, 1862–1941.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Washington Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19026 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1992. Watch Washington Township change.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · By decade

Washington Township, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1880s2 items
Township map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, from actual surveys1862Township map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, from actu…Map1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Washington - ED 6-24, ED 6-39, ED 6-10218801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …
1890s–1920snothing 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
1930s–1940s31 items
"Old age" near Washington, Pennsylvania1936"Old age" near Washington, PennsylvaniaWorker1940WorkerWorker at furnace1940Worker at furnaceWorkers at rolling machine1940Workers at rolling machineWashington Tinplate Company1941Washington Tinplate CompanyWashington Tinplate Company1941Washington Tinplate CompanyWashington Tinplate Company1941Washington Tinplate CompanyRolling machine. Washington Tinplate Company1941Rolling machine. Washington Tinplate CompanyRolling machine. Washington Tinplate Company1941Rolling machine. Washington Tinplate CompanyWorkers at Washington Tinplate Company. Washington, Pennsylvania1941Workers at Washington Tinplate Company. Washington, P…At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…Worker at Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941Worker at Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Penn…Worker at Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941Worker at Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Penn…Worker1941WorkerIn the Washington Tinplate Company. Washington, Pennsylvania1941In the Washington Tinplate Company. Washington, Penns…At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…In the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941In the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…In the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941In the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…In the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941In the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941At the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…In the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsylvania1941In the Washington Tinplate Works. Washington, Pennsyl…Workers in the Washington Tinplate Company. Washington, Pennsylvania1941Workers in the Washington Tinplate Company. Washingto…Worker at rolling mill. Washington Tinplate Company1941Worker at rolling mill. Washington Tinplate CompanyYoung worker at the Washington Tinplate Company. Washington, Pennsylvania1941Young worker at the Washington Tinplate Company. Wash…At a rolling machine in the Washington Tinplate Company. Washington, Pennsylvania1941At a rolling machine in the Washington Tinplate Compa…
1950s–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
Today3 recent
Washington Township2018Washington TownshipWest Branch Perkiomen Creek near Bally2013West Branch Perkiomen Creek near BallyGehman Rd 422, Washington Township, BerksCo PA2013Gehman Rd 422, Washington Township, BerksCo PA
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dale
1828–1903
Barto
1882–today
Eshbach
1886–1907
Passmore
1900–1908
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BartoDaleEshbachSchultzville
Gone or out of use
Martin Stone Quarriesmine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Washington Township
Bethany CongregationalMost Blessed Sacrament Church

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Washington Township on the map, 1902 to 1992

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

Washington Township on the 1902 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1943 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1956 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1969 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1973 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1992 USGS map1902Boyertown 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 Washington Township.

The story

How Washington Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Washington Township.

Read it all →

The Barto Bridge, Borneman Mill, Philip Christman House, and Dale Furnace and Forge Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Washington Township is named in honor of George Washington, first US President.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Washington Township, 1828 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe Dale post office opens
  3. 1862In the archiveTownship map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, from actual surveys
  4. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Washington - ED 6-2…
  5. 1882Post officeThe Barto post office opens
  6. 1886Post officeThe Eshbach post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1903Post officeThe Dale post office closes
  10. 1907Post officeThe Eshbach post office closes
  11. 1936In the archive"Old age" near Washington, Pennsylvania
  12. 1940In the archiveWorker
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Washington - ED 6-24, ED 6-39, ED 6-102
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Washington - ED 6-24, ED 6-39, ED 6-102, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 listings protect 16 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
16
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Philip Christman House
Philip Christman HouseBarto BridgeBorneman MillDale Furnace and Forge Historic DistrictBobb Mill and Farmstead
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Germanic1
Frame Gristmill1
Vernacular Farm House and Barn1
Iron Furnace1
Philip Christman HouseGermanic
Barto BridgeStructure
Borneman MillFrame Gristmill
Dale Furnace and Forge Historic DistrictIron Furnace
All 5 listings
Bobb Mill and FarmsteadBuilding · listed 2026

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Washington Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00019802000Peak: 3,810

Between 2,569 and 3,810 people in every census since 1980.

4 censuses, 1980–2010.

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

Help out

Finish Washington Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

BechtelsvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHereford Township2 historic placesADouglass TownshipIts storyBColebrookdale Township2 historic placesA

Questions about Washington Township’s history

How does Washington Township rank for history?

Washington Township is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #158 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 Washington Township?

5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Philip Christman House (listed 1973, the first), 1 historic district, the Dale Furnace and Forge Historic District, with 6 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 16 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Washington Township?

24% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1981.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (31), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, 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.