Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Washington Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
BHistory
History · Washington Township

Washington Township dates to 1824, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1850.

1824founded
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Washington Township began, and where its name came from

When was Washington Township founded?

1824

Washington Township dates its founding to 1824 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 646 in 18502020 census: 1,892202 years

How did Washington Township get its name?

Washington Township was named for President George Washington.

How historic is Washington Township?

B

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1882. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 57% of U.S. towns. Its age 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 era1824, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194016.4% of homes (±3.9) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational 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 57%
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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1824.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). 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 villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Washington Township, and 12 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Washington Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 3,816 in 1900; 1,893 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19226 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1994. Watch Washington Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

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

Beechtree
1882–1909
Coal Glen
1886–1931
Westville
1892–1980
Pardus
1903–1925
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BeechtreeBeechwoodsCoal GlenHarveys RunHormtownMcMinns SummitPardusRed MillRockdaleSmith SummitSmithtownWestville
Gone or out of use
Bywatler Landing StripairportCravenslocaleCrawford SchoolschoolGroves SchoolschoolHorm Run SchoolschoolMorrison SchoolschoolRockdale SchoolschoolSerect SchoolschoolWaite Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Washington Township
BeechtreeBeechwoods

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

Help out

Start Washington Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Washington Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001850190019502000Peak: 3,816

Peaked at 3,816 in 1900; 1,893 people lived here in 2020.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

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 in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,893 at the 2020 census. It was named for President George Washington.

Washington Township was established in 1824. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,926 in 2010, 1,892 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Washington Township, 1824 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1824
    FoundingWashington Township is established
  3. 1882Post officeThe Beechtree post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Coal Glen post office opens
  5. 1892Post officeThe Westville post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 3,816
  8. 1909Post officeThe Beechtree post office closes
  9. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1931Post officeThe Coal Glen post office closes
  11. 1980Post officeThe Westville post office closes
By decade

Washington Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
US 219 nb entering Snyder Twp., Jefferson Co., PA from Washington Twp., Aug. 20242024US 219 nb entering Snyder Twp., Jefferson Co., PA fro…I-80 wb in Washington Township, Jefferson County, PA, June 20242024I-80 wb in Washington Township, Jefferson County, PA,…I-80 wb entering Washington Township, Jefferson Co., PA, June 20242024I-80 wb entering Washington Township, Jefferson Co., …2022-06-06 17 42 58 View east along Pennsylvania State Route 830 at Airport Road in20222022-06-06 17 42 58 View east along Pennsylvania Stat…Map of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania Highlighting2008Map of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania HighlightingMap
On the map

Washington Township on the map, 1922 to 1994

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 1922 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1944 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1966 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1973 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1981 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1994 USGS map1922Du Bois 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.

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 →
J
Joan ChittisterRoman Catholic nun, activist, writer and academ… · b. 1936
Charles H. MacDonaldAmerican flying ace · b. 1914
Donald C. BruceAmerican politician · b. 1921
Sparky LyleAmerican baseball player · b. 1944
Albert C. ThompsonLawyer, judge and politician · b. 1842
D
DeVeren BookwalterAmerican actor · b. 1939
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Warsaw TownshipIts storyBFalls CreekIts storyB−Snyder Township1 historic placeB+Sandy Township1 historic placeBPine Creek TownshipIts storyB−Winslow TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Washington Township’s history

What year was Washington Township founded?

In 1824, according to Wikidata. Washington Township’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1850 counted 646 people here.

How does Washington Township rank for history?

Washington Township is more historic than 57% 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?

16% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1972.

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), 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.