Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Clearfield post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clearfield’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Clearfield.
Clearfield was platted in 1881 when the Humeston and Shenandoah Railroad was being built through that territory. The town was incorporated in 1882.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Clearfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Clearfield was platted in 1881 and incorporated in 1882. F. Brice was agent for the town company. T. C. Mann was the first mayor and F. Brice the sec¬ ond. Mr. Brice enjoys the distinction of having been justice of the peace in Clearfield eighteen years.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
dertaking and was able to purchase additional property from time to time, so that today he owns seven hundred and forty acres of valuable land, constituting him one of the extensive landowners of the county. The place adjoins the cor¬ porate limits of the town of Clearfield, and as he has prospered he has made substantial improvements upon the farm. He erected a comfortable and attrac¬ tive two-story residence, built a substantial barn and good outbuildings, and set out a grove and large orchard which yields abundant fruit in season. In connec¬ tion with general farming, he also devotes considerable time to his stock in¬
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Clearfield’s post office has been open since 1881.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Clearfield post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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