The story
Read it all →How Wilmington Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Wilmington Township.
Banks Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainA−History
History · Wilmington Township
Wilmington Township dates to 1846, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #318 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Banks Covered Bridge. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 2000.
1846founded
1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Wilmington Township began
When was Wilmington Township founded?
1846
Wilmington Township dates its founding to 1846 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 2000.
First census: 2,760 in 20002020 census: 2,663180 years
How historic is Wilmington Township?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wilmington Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wilmington Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #318 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wilmington Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1846, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194021.2% of homes (±8.2) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 3.8 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 69%
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 Wilmington Township’s 3.8 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1846.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.2 points).
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 Wilmington Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Wilmington Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19054 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1990. Watch Wilmington Township change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Wilmington Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1846: 180 years of Wilmington Township.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Wilmington Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wilmington 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
Wilmington Township on the map, 1905 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wilmington Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Neshannock 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 Wilmington Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Neshannock Falls, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cottage GroveFayetteMayvilleNeshannock Falls
Gone or out of use
Klockner AirportairportMcFarland Airportairport
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wilmington Township
Fair OaksFayette LutheranMaple Grove MennoniteNeshannock PresbyterianRich Hill United Presbyterian ChurchVolant
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Wilmington Township, 1846 to 1916
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1846FoundingWilmington Township is established
- 1854Post officeThe Neshannock Falls post office opens
- 20th century
- 1905
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1916Post officeThe Neshannock Falls post office closes
By decade
Wilmington Township, decade by decade
2022
2022
2011On the National Register
1 historic place in Wilmington Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Banks Covered Bridge
Structures
Architectural styles listings
Burr Truss1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Wilmington Township, census by census
Between 2,662 and 2,760 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wilmington Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Wilmington Township
Nobody well known was born in Wilmington Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
New Wilmington1 historic placeAVolantIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNeshannock TownshipIts storyC+Hickory TownshipIts storyB−Washington TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSpringfield Township1 historic placeA−Pulaski TownshipIts storyB
Questions about Wilmington Township’s history
What year was Wilmington Township founded?
In 1846, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Wilmington Township’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 2000 counted 2,760 people here.
How does Wilmington Township rank for history?
Wilmington Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #318 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 Wilmington Township?
One place: the Banks Covered Bridge (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Wilmington Township?
21% of Wilmington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1971.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.