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History · Meadville

Meadville’s post office opened in 1822, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Meadville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1962. Its Register listing is the Franklin County Courthouse.

1822first post office
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Meadville began

When was Meadville founded?

1822

The Meadville post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 448204 years
Founding year: the first Meadville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Meadville’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 Meadville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1822: 204 years of Meadville.Old housesHalf of Meadville’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Meadville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Meadville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Meadville, 1822 to 1968

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1822Post officeThe Meadville post office opens
  3. 1888Born herePat McGehee is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Born hereDick Jones is born here
  6. 1968Born herePete Young is born here
  7. 1968Born hereGreg Briggs is born here
The story

How Meadville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Meadville.

Read it all →

The town was named after Cowles Mead, a 19th-century political leader. This town developed as a trading center for the agricultural county, which had an early economy based on the cultivation of cotton. Court days also attracted farmers and their customers. The county is still largely rural.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Meadville, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Xeromphalina campanella 356072009Xeromphalina campanella 35607Xeromphalina campanella 356062009Xeromphalina campanella 35606Xeromphalina campanella 356052009Xeromphalina campanella 35605Pretty Monument2006Pretty Monument
On the National Register

1 historic place in Meadville

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
1981
Franklin County Courthouse
Franklin County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical1
Franklin County CourthouseClassical

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Meadville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Pete YoungAmerican baseball pitcher · b. 1968
Dick JonesAmerican baseball player · b. 1902
G
Greg BriggsAmerican football player · b. 1968
P
Pat McGeheeAmerican baseball player · b. 1888

Questions about Meadville’s history

What year was Meadville founded?

The Meadville post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Meadville?

One place: the Franklin County Courthouse (listed 1981).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.