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A−History
History · Waverly Township

Waverly Township’s post office opened in 1851, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 116 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1892 on.

1851first post office
1on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Waverly Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Waverly Township began

When was Waverly Township founded?

1851

The Waverly Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,856175 years

How historic is Waverly Township?

A−

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Waverly Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Waverly Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waverly Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waverly Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194026.1% of homes (±9.0) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 116 historic buildings, 591 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
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 Waverly Township’s 591 sits above most of its state (95% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 116 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Waverly Township’s past

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

A historic districtThe Waverly Historic District takes in 116 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1994. Watch Waverly Township change.Old housesHalf of Waverly Township’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 116 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
116
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
Waverly Historic District
Waverly Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Federal1
Italianate1
Stick1
Eastlake1
Gothic Revival1
Waverly Historic DistrictGreek Revival

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

Help out

Start Waverly Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMain Street School,One Room: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Waverly Township on the map, 1892 to 1994

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

Waverly Township on the 1892 USGS mapWaverly Township on the 1946 USGS mapWaverly Township on the 1969 USGS mapWaverly Township on the 1994 USGS map1892Dundaff 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 Waverly Township.

The story

How Waverly Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waverly Township.

Read it all →

The earliest settlers built cabins in Waverly around 1800. The Philadelphia and Great Bend Turnpike (now Main Street) was chartered in 1819 by the Pennsylvania Legislature along the Warriors' Path. Started in 1820, this turnpike was completed in 1824. During this time, the first three houses which were not cabins were built. In 1828, the Wayside Inn was built, and the first doctor, Andrew Bedford, set up practice and built a house which stands today on Main Street. The first general store was built in 1830, followed by a second inn and tavern in 1832. A building boom ensued during the years 1847 through 1890, during which time Waverly was a profitable small-scale industrial center. 1850 through 1880 was the heyday of Waverly's industrial era. Farmers and dairymen shipped their goods to New York City; iron foundries flourished, and numerous retail establishments, including greengrocers, …

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Waverly Township, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Main Street School,One RoomDate?Main Street School,One Room
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.

Main Street School,One Room
Retake this viewMain Street School,One Room

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Waverly
1cemetery inside Waverly Township
Hickory Grove

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.

South Abington TownshipIts storyCNorth Abington TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGlenburn TownshipIts storyCDaltonIts storyB−Clarks SummitIts storyC+Clarks GreenIts storyC+

Questions about Waverly Township’s history

What year was Waverly Township founded?

The Waverly Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Waverly Township rank for history?

Waverly Township is more historic than 82% 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.

What is on the National Register in Waverly Township?

One place: the Waverly Historic District (listed 2004).

How old are the homes in Waverly Township?

26% of Waverly Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.