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
Himmel's Church Covered BridgeHimmel's Church Covered Bridge · Photo: Eqqman at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Washington Township

35% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Himmel's Church Covered Bridge. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1810.

1on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

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 history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Washington Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1974. Watch Washington Township change.Boom and bustPeaked at 26,280 in 1950; 13,176 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · 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
On the map

Washington Township on the map, 1892 to 1974

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 1892 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1947 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1955 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1969 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1974 USGS map1892Lykens 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.

People over time

Washington Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0001850190019502000Peak: 26,280

Peaked at 26,280 in 1950; 13,176 people lived here in 2020.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

The story

How Washington Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Washington Township.

Read it all →

The French labeled the area "Wissameking", meaning "catfish place", as early as 1757.

The area of Washington was settled by many immigrants from Scotland and the north of Ireland along with settlers from eastern and central parts of the Colony of Virginia, first settled around 1768.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed an act on March 28, 1781, establishing the County of Washington and naming "Catfish Camp" as the place for holding the first election.

Chapters18th century19th century20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Washington Township, 1837 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Greenbrier post office opens
  3. 1858Post officeThe Rebuck post office opens
  4. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1934Post officeThe Greenbrier post office closes
  7. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 26,280
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
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
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Himmel's Church Covered Bridge
Himmel's Church Covered Bridge
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Multiple Kingpost Truss1
Himmel's Church Covered BridgeMultiple Kingpost Truss

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

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

Greenbrier
1837–1934
Rebuck
1858–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GreenbrierRebuck

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Upper Mahanoy TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJackson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJordan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLittle Mahanoy TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Washington Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Washington Township?

One place: the Himmel's Church Covered Bridge (listed 1979).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.