The story
Read it all →How West Franklin Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of West Franklin Township.
West Franklin Township appears in the 1876 Atlas of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · West Franklin Township
21% of West Franklin Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 2000.
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About West Franklin Township’s history
How historic is West Franklin Township?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives West Franklin Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Franklin Township is more historic than 46% 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 West Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194020.5% of homes (±6.1) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+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 46%
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 West Franklin 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 (±6.1 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 West Franklin 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 West Franklin Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s West Franklin Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19005 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1993. Watch West Franklin Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start West Franklin Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Franklin Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Craigsville
Nichola
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CraigsvilleLaird CrossingNicholaShadyside Village
1cemetery inside West Franklin Township
Franklin Union Baptist Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
West Franklin Township on the map, 1900 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Franklin Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1900Kittanning sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Franklin Township.
Timeline
West Franklin Township, 1869 to 1986
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 albumPeople over time
West Franklin Township, census by census
Between 1,709 and 1,935 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Franklin Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to West Franklin Township
Nobody well known was born in West Franklin Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about West Franklin Township’s history
How does West Franklin Township rank for history?
West Franklin Township is more historic than 46% 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 West Franklin Township?
21% of West Franklin Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1979.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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.