On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Young Township is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Young 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 Young 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 (±4.7 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 Young 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, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Horatio, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Walston
1885–today
De Lancey
1888–today
Horatio
1888–1920
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Adrian MinesCrawfordtownHarmonyHoratioSportsburgWalston
Gone or out of use
Crawfordtown Delancey Post Officepost officeMorris Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Young Township
Adrian - Anita Roman CatholicAnita CommunityHoratioSaints Peter and Paul Byzantine
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
Young Township, census by census
Peaked at 5,969 in 1900; 1,716 people lived here in 2020.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Young Township’s Wikipedia page.
The story so far
Young Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Young Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Young Township is a township in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,716 at the 2020 census. It was named for John Young, the pioneer judge of Westmoreland County. Young Township is the location of adjacent Punxsutawney's Groundhog Day celebration each February 2, during which thousands of attendees and international media outlets visit for an annual weather prediction by the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil. Although named for Punxsutawney, the actual prediction location, Gobbler's Knob, is in Young Township.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,749 to 1,711 (-2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Young Township, 1885 to 1968
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Young Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1968Punxsutawney sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Young Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Young Township
Nobody well known was born in Young Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Young Township is more historic than 37% 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 Young Township?
15% of Young Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (7), 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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