York Township dates to 1741, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #464 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of York Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listings are the Cookes House and the Zion Stone Church. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives York Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, York Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #464 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of York 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 York Township’s 0.7 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1741.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 York Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside York Township
Dallastown UnionHeiland ViewNew Fairview ChurchSusquehanna Memorial GardensWilliams
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
York Township, census by census
Peaked at 59,953 in 1950; 44,800 people lived here in 2020.
24 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on York Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
York Township on the map, 1908 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of York Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908York 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 York Township.
York was also known as Yorktown in the mid-18th to early 19th centuries. It was founded in 1741 by settlers from the Philadelphia region and named for the English city of the same name. By 1777, most of the area residents were of German or Scots-Irish descent. It was incorporated as a borough on September 24, 1787, and as a city on January 11, 1887.
York served as the temporary base for the Continental Congress from September 30, 1777, to June 27, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Congress drafted and adopted the Articles of Confederation in York, though they were not ratified until March 1781. Congress met at the Court House that was built in 1754. It was demolished in 1841 and rebuilt in 1976 as Colonial Court House.
In 1741, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. York Township’s post office opened in 1874, and the first U.S. census counted 2,096 people here in 1790.
How does York Township rank for history?
York Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #464 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 York Township?
Two places: the Cookes House (listed 1972) and the Zion Stone Church (1984).
How old are the homes in York Township?
6% of York Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
1853
1879
