Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #561 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1900.
Aldan dates its founding to 1893 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aldan is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #561 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Aldan’s 2.3 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
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 Aldan’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Aldan. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Aldan.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Aldan yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Aldan is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,244 at the 2020 census.
Aldan was established in 1893. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,152 to 4,244 (+2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Delaware County - Aldan - ED 23-1,…
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
BuiltEden Cemetery is builtOne decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Aldan’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 296 and 5,001 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Aldan’s Wikipedia page.
Aldan had its own post office from 1900 to 1925.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1893, according to Wikidata. Aldan’s post office opened in 1900, and the census of 1900 counted 296 people here.
Aldan is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #561 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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.
One place: the Eden Cemetery (listed 2010).
27% of Aldan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1954.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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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