Formed in 1822, it is named for American Revolutionary War Commander John Barry and was formed from parts of Norwegian and Schuylkill Townships.

At the 2000 census there were 967 people, 362 households, and 275 families living in the township.

There were 451 housing units at an average density of 26.9 per square mile (10.4/km2).

[4] Of the 362 households, 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families.

Males had a median income of $37,813 versus $21,964 for females.