The story
Read it all →How Williams Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Williams Township.
Williams Township was named for a family of pioneer settlers.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B+History
History · Williams Township
42% of Williams Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1892 on.
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Williams Township’s history
How historic is Williams Township?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Williams Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Williams Township is more historic than 67% 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 Williams Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194042.2% of homes (±9.9) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+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 67%
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 Williams 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 (±9.9 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 Williams Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Williams Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Williams Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Williams Township on the map, 1892 to 1997
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Williams Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Lykens 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 Williams Township.
By decade
Williams Township, decade by decade
2025
2025
2023Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Williams Township
Nobody well known was born in Williams Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
DaytonGreenfield
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Williams Township
FairviewHoly Spirit Byzantine CatholicMethodist EpiscopalSacred Heart
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Williams Township’s history
How does Williams Township rank for history?
Williams Township is more historic than 67% 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 Williams Township?
42% of Williams Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1950.
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 Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.