4 of Whitpain Township’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #697 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Whitpain Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1930.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whitpain Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #697 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Whitpain 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 Whitpain Township’s 10.3 sits above most of its state (77% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 21 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% 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 (±1.2 points) is firm at this size.
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 Whitpain 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.
Centre Square
1821–1964
Blue Bell
1839–today
Belfry
1881–1921
Narcissa
1887–1913
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BayhillBelfryBelfry MeadowBirkdaleBlue BellBlue Bell CrossingBlue Bell FarmsBlue Bell GardensBlue Bell GlennBlue Bell KnollBlue Bell Road ManorBlue Bell SquareBroad Axe VillageCathcart ManorCenter SquareCenter Square GreenDeKalb FarmsDekalb ParkFar-A-FieldFive PointsFranklinvilleGleneaglesGreystone ManorInverrary
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Whitpain Township
BoehmsMount Pleasant Baptist ChurchSaint John's Lutheran ChurchUnion Meeting House
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Whitpain Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Whitpain Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Whitpain Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1894Norristown 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 Whitpain Township.
Whitpain is one of the oldest townships in Montgomery County. Richard Whitpaine, a London butcher, purchased a 4,500-acre (1,800 ha) tract of land as part of William Penn’s "Holy Experiment". His 16-year-old son, Zechariah, travelled to Pennsylvania on the ship Welcome with Penn in 1682 to settle his father's properties and escape persecution of his Quaker beliefs. By 1685, Zechariah had established a plantation house along Wissahickon Creek near Mount Pleasant, with his bride Sarah Songhurst, whom he had met on the Welcome.
Whitpain Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #697 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 Whitpain Township?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Dawesfield (listed 1991, the first). 21 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Whitpain Township?
4% of Whitpain Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
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