Whitemarsh Township dates to 1683, and 12 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #195 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Whitemarsh Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. 12 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 118 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1803.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Whitemarsh Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whitemarsh Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #195 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Whitemarsh 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 Whitemarsh Township’s 71.1 sits above most of its state (87% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 142 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1683.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Whitemarsh Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Whitemarsh Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Germantown 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 Whitemarsh Township.
Whitemarsh was originally inhabited by the Lenape tribe of Native Americans. It was first settled by European colonists in 1683. At that time, Whitemarsh was part of a tract of land that Major Jasper Farmar had purchased from William Penn. Farmar died shortly thereafter, before making the voyage across the ocean to settle on his newly purchased land. But his widow and family, with servants, sailed to Philadelphia in 1685, and established their homestead on the part of their land that lay in nearby Fort Washington. After Farmar's widow died in the 1690s, her son Edward began to sell 100- to 200-acre parcels of their Whitemarsh land to Quakers and German immigrants.
In 1683, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Whitemarsh Township’s post office opened in 1803, and the census of 1850 counted 2,408 people here.
How does Whitemarsh Township rank for history?
Whitemarsh Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #195 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.
What is on the National Register in Whitemarsh Township?
12 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Hovenden House, Barn and Abolition Hall (listed 1971, the first), 2 historic districts, the Plymouth Meeting Historic District and the Cold Point Historic District, with 118 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 142 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Whitemarsh Township?
9% of Whitemarsh Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (2), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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