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BHistory
History · Washington Township

28% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1910 on, and old-book passages.

0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
18old 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?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
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 56% of U.S. towns. 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 Washington Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraWithout a firm founding date for Washington Township, this grade rests on its old homes and Register listings–Homes built before 194027.9% of homes (±8.8) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder

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 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 (±8.8 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 Washington Township’s past

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

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Washington Township, and 7 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers.On the map since 19104 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1972. Watch Washington Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Another post office, Argentine, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hilliards
1876–today
Argentine
1884–1957
North Washington
1909–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AnnisvilleArgentineHilliardsNorth WashingtonParsonvillePeaceful ValleyWhiskerville
Gone or out of use
Emery SchoolschoolOak Dell SchoolschoolPisor Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Washington Township
Mount VarnumNew SalemNorth Washington UnionOld North Washington MethodistRosewoodSaint Paschal

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

By decade

Washington Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s18 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…
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
On the map

Washington Township on the map, 1910 to 1972

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 1910 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1944 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1963 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1972 USGS map1910Hilliards 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 so far

Washington Township, in brief

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

Washington Township is a township that is located in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,287 at the time of the 2020 census.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,300 in 2010, 1,288 in 2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Washington Township in 1927

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

Hilliards, formerly called Hilliard Station, or Hilliards Mills, is one of the earliest settlements in Washington Township. Jacob Hilliard settled on a stream known as Hilliards Run in 1802, and his son, John Hilliard, built a grist-mill there which was conducted for many years. Until recent years …
History of Butler County Pennsylvania1927 · page 554Read the page →
Read the text

Hilliards, formerly called Hilliard Station, or Hilliards Mills, is one of the earliest settlements in Washington Township. Jacob Hilliard settled on a stream known as Hilliards Run in 1802, and his son, John Hilliard, built a grist-mill there which was conducted for many years. Until recent years the remains of the old dam could be seen.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Benjamin Fletcher erected his log grist-mill at Martinsburg (now Bruin), he was looked on almost as a public benefactor. Several years later, John Shryock established a mill on Silver Creek, not far from the Washington Township line, and in 1824 William Turner built a grist mill on the north branch…
History of Butler County Pennsylvania1927 · page 545Read the page →
Read the text

Benjamin Fletcher erected his log grist-mill at Martinsburg (now Bruin), he was looked on almost as a public benefactor. Several years later, John Shryock established a mill on Silver Creek, not far from the Washington Township line, and in 1824 William Turner built a grist mill on the north branch of Beaver Creek. Other mills were erected, and manufacturing and milling were important industries along the numerous streams long before the aggregation of houses at any one point was more than a log settlement. The Harvey

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

Washington Township, 1876 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe Hilliards post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Argentine post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909Post officeThe North Washington post office opens
  6. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1936In the archive"Old age" near Washington, Pennsylvania
  8. 1940In the archiveWorker
  9. 1957Post officeThe Argentine post office closes
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.

"Old age" near Washington, Pennsylvania
Retake this view"Old age" near Washington, Pennsylvania, 1936

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
Famous people

Famous people close to Washington Township

Nobody well known was born in Washington Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Joe PageAmerican baseball player · b. 1917
B
Brice SchwabCollege football player · b. 1990
J
Janet AndersonProfessional golfer · b. 1956
B
Bob WayAmerican baseball player · b. 1906
G
George CrawfordAmerican businessman · b. 1861
G
George N. WadeAmerican politician · b. 1893
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 view"Old age" near Washington, Pennsylvania: 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.

Parker TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVenango TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCherry TownshipIts storyCConcord TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Washington Township’s history

How does Washington Township rank for history?

Washington Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. 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 Washington Township?

28% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 the Library of Congress (18), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.