The Westmoreland post office opened in 1802, the earliest record of the town by name. Seven smaller post offices, Hampton (1809), Lairdsville (1824) and Bairdsville (1832), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,542 in 18002020 census: 5,924224 years
How historic is Westmoreland?
B−
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Westmoreland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Westmoreland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westmoreland is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #672 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Westmoreland’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Westmoreland’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Westmoreland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town of Westmoreland was first settled in 1748, by James Dean, a missionary among the members of the Oneida tribe. The Town of Westmoreland was formed in 1792 from the Town of Whitestown. In 1802, part of Westmoreland was used to establish the Towns of Vernon and Verona. More of Westmoreland was lost in 1855 on the formation of the Town of Kirkland to the south.
Passages that mention Westmoreland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania1906Read the page →
Read the text
pleted his legal studies with his cousin, Cyrus L. Pershing, who subsequently became judge of one of the easteru Peimsylvania counties. In September, 1864, Mr. Long was .admitted to the bar of Cambria county, Pennsylvania, and in August, 1865. to the bar of Westmoreland county, but he soon forsook that prokssion foV what seemed to be more to his natural liking— surveying, which profession he had commenced in his boyhood days. He was elected county surveyor in Westmoreland county in 1871, and re-elected in 1874. For a score of years and more he has been employed by individuals and large corporations
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania1906Read the page →
Read the text
also clerk in the prothonotary's office under R. A. Hope, and was deputy prothonotarv under Lewis Thompson. He was elected prothonotary of Westmoreland county in November, 1897, and filled the office in 1898, 1899 and 1900. In April, 1900, on the organization of the Westmoreland Savings & Trust Company of Greensburg, he was elected assistant secretary and treasurer of the institution, and filled that position until September, 1903, when the governor appointed him register of wills and clerk of the Orphans' court to succeed Samuel C. Stevenson, deceased. At the close of his term of appointment he was
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.
Timeline
Westmoreland, 1802 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Westmoreland post office opened in 1802, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Westmoreland rank for history?
Westmoreland is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #672 of 758 in New York. 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 Westmoreland?
14% of Westmoreland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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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