The West Salem Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, West Salem (1851), Maysville (1852) and Shenango (1895), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 3,565 in 20002020 census: 3,216175 years
How historic is West Salem Township?
B−
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first West Salem Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives West Salem Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Salem Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #788 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Salem 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 Salem 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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.5 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 Salem Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
West Salem
1851–1875
Maysville
1852–1872
Shenango
1895–1979
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Donner CrossroadsMaysvilleShenango
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside West Salem Township
FellGood HopeJerusalemRock Ridge
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
West Salem Township on the map, 1908 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Salem Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Shenango 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 West Salem Township.
The story so far
West Salem Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of West Salem Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
West Salem Township is a township in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,220 at the 2020 census, a decrease from 3,538 in 2010.
Its first post office opened in 1851. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,538 to 3,216 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about West Salem Township in 1888
Passages that mention West Salem Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 905Read the page →
Read the text
Fells, William and Nathan, who were sons of John and Elizabeth (Hartley) Fell, natives of Bucks County, Penn. In the fall of 1796 William and his son George came from Westmoreland County, Penn., to Mercer County, and made a selection of a tract of land in the south part of West Salem Township, and then returned to their home. They again came out in the spring of 1797, built a cabin, and made a permanent settlement. In the spring of 1798 William moved his family to his new home in the wilderness of IVIercer County.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 1176Read the page →
Read the text
son, born February 15, 1761. He followed weaving in summer, and teaching school in the winter. In the fall of 1796 he and his son, George W., came to Mercer County, and selected a piece of laud in what is now the Southern part of West Salem Township. In the spring of 1797 they came back to the land, built a log cabin, and commenced a settlement in the dense forest. Mr. Fell returned to Westmoreland County early in July, leaving his son, George W. , then a boy thirteen years old, to continue the settlement, and he remained seven weeks longer before joining his father in Westmoreland
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
West Salem Township, 1851 to 1979
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The West Salem Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does West Salem Township rank for history?
West Salem Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #788 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 Salem Township?
27% of West Salem Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1972.
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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
