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Col. Edward Cook HouseCol. Edward Cook House · Photo: Leo A. McMullen · Public domain
AHistory
History · Washington Township

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

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #249 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Col. Edward Cook House. Its Register listing is the Col. Edward Cook House. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1990.

1on the National Register
24%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?

A

More historic than 85% 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 85% of U.S. towns, #249 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
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 194024.0% of homes (±8.9) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 7.9 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 76%

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 7.9 sits above most of its state (73% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±8.9 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 villages3 post offices 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 19026 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1979. Watch Washington Township change.Old housesHalf of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · 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.

Layton Station
1868–1896
Gillespie
1892–1907
Arnold City
1900–1916
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arnold CityBrownstownFairhopeGillespieLandon StationLynnwoodNaomi
Gone or out of use
Little Redstone SchoolschoolMount Union Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Washington Township
Little Redstone United Methodist Church

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
Today2 recent
Washington Township east of Belle Vernon2015Washington Township east of Belle VernonLocus 7 Site2011Locus 7 Site
On the map

Washington Township on the map, 1902 to 1979

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 1931 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1940 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1954 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1969 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1979 USGS map1902Brownsville 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 →

A significant part of the prehistory of Washington Township is the Locus 7 Site, located north of Fayette City, where it is believed that members of the Monongahela tribe may have lived as far back as AD 600.

Washington Township is an original Fayette County township, created from Rostraver Township when Fayette County was erected from Westmoreland County in 1783. It originally included Perry and Jefferson townships.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Washington Township, 1868 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe Layton Station post office opens
  3. 1892Post officeThe Gillespie post office opens
  4. 1896Post officeThe Layton Station post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Post officeThe Arnold City post office opens
  7. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1907Post officeThe Gillespie post office closes
  9. 1916Post officeThe Arnold City post office closes
  10. 1936In the archive"Old age" near Washington, Pennsylvania
  11. 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.

"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
On the National Register

1 historic place in Washington Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Col. Edward Cook House
Col. Edward Cook House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial1
Col. Edward Cook HouseColonial

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

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00020002020Peak: 4,613

Between 3,899 and 4,613 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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 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.

Fayette CityIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRostraver TownshipIts storyB−Jefferson TownshipIts storyB−FairhopeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLynnwood-PricedaleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNaomiIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAllenportIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPerry Township5 historic placesA+Belle VernonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDunlevyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Washington Township’s history

How does Washington Township rank for history?

Washington Township is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #249 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?

One place: the Col. Edward Cook House (listed 1978).

How old are the homes in Washington Township?

24% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1957.

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 (2), the Library of Congress (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.