The West Manheim Township post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, West Manheim (1860), Bandanna (1888) and Raubenstine (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 4,865 in 20002020 census: 9,072166 years
How historic is West Manheim Township?
C
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first West Manheim Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives West Manheim Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Manheim Township is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #955 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Manheim Township’s overall grade.
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 Manheim 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 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 West Manheim Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of West Manheim Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
West Manheim Township is a township in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, just north of the Mason-Dixon Line. The population was 9,069 at the 2020 census. The community is a suburb of Baltimore and part of its Designated Market Area.
Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 7,744 to 9,072 (+17%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
West Manheim Township, 1860 to 1953
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Manheim Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Manchester sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Manheim Township.
People over time
West Manheim Township, census by census
Between 4,865 and 9,069 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Manheim Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to West Manheim Township
Nobody well known was born in West Manheim Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The West Manheim Township post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does West Manheim Township rank for history?
West Manheim Township is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #955 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.
How old are the homes in West Manheim Township?
10% of West Manheim Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 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.
