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B−History
History · Allegheny Township

Allegheny Township dates to 1788, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #752 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: 23 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1830.

1788founded
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
23old photos & papers
36famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Allegheny Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Allegheny Township began

When was Allegheny Township founded?

1788

Allegheny Township dates its founding to 1788 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 2,801 in 18302020 census: 6,585238 years

How historic is Allegheny Township?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1898.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Allegheny Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Allegheny Township is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #752 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Allegheny Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1788, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194010.5% of homes (±3.9) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 49%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 27%

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 Allegheny Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1788.
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 (±3.9 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Allegheny Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos23 old photos, postcards and papers, 1800–1900.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Allegheny Township, and 7 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1972. Watch Allegheny Township change.Famous sons and daughtersMary Cassatt, Gertrude Stein and 34 more were born here.
★ What stands out · By decade

Allegheny Township, decade by decade

7 decades in the archive, from the 1800s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1800s1 item
Allegheny Commons RR tracks 1800s1800sAllegheny Commons RR tracks 1800sDocument
1840s–1860s11 items
US 1880s Allegheny PA Laundry Blue Inks Medicines Advertising Cover1840sUS 1880s Allegheny PA Laundry Blue Inks Medicines Adv…The Presbyterian historical almanac and annual remembrancer of the church (1859)1859The Presbyterian historical almanac and annual rememb…Carnegie Hall, Allegheny, Pa.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh and Allegheny. 1752c. 1860Carnegie Hall, Allegheny, Pa.Alternate Title: Pittsbu…View at Allegheny City.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh and Allegheny Floodc. 1860View at Allegheny City.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh an…View at Allegheny City.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh and Allegheny Floodc. 1860View at Allegheny City.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh an…View at Allegheny City.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh and Allegheny Floodc. 1860View at Allegheny City.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh an…View at Allegheny City.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh and Allegheny Floodc. 1860View at Allegheny City.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh an…View at Allegheny City.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh and Allegheny Floodc. 1860View at Allegheny City.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh an…View of flood at Allegheny City, Pennc. 1860View of flood at Allegheny City, PennView of flood at Allegheny City, Pennc. 1860View of flood at Allegheny City, PennView of flood at Allegheny Cityc. 1860View of flood at Allegheny City
1870s–1890s9 items
Map of Pittsburgh and Alleghany, drawn from the Official Plans, records and actual surveys1879Map of Pittsburgh and Alleghany, drawn from the Offic…MapMusic hall, Carnegie Library and music hall, Allegheny City, Pennyslvania1890Music hall, Carnegie Library and music hall, Alleghen…Music hall, Carnegie Library and music hall, Allegheny City, Pennyslvania1890Music hall, Carnegie Library and music hall, Alleghen…Reading room, view toward the delivery room, Carnegie Library and Music Hall, Allegheny City, Pennsylvania1890Reading room, view toward the delivery room, Carnegie…Allegheny Athletic Association football team 18921892Allegheny Athletic Association football team 1892University Park where 300 residence sites invite the home builder - the investor The wonderful sale is now on! An event1895University Park where 300 residence sites invite the …Allegheny Athletic Association football team 18961896Allegheny Athletic Association football team 1896Allegheny City map1898Allegheny City mapMapCity Hall Park, Carnegie Library1898City Hall Park, Carnegie Library
1900s2 items
Railroad on Anderson Street1900Railroad on Anderson StreetRiver Avenue1900River Avenue
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Beryl, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
CananCanan StationCarson ValleyCross KeysFoot of TenStifflerSunbrook
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Allegheny Township
Alto Reste Burial ParkBenningtonCarson ValleyCounty HomeGreen LawnSaint Marys

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Allegheny Township on the map, 1902 to 1972

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Allegheny Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Allegheny Township on the 1902 USGS mapAllegheny Township on the 1963 USGS mapAllegheny Township on the 1972 USGS map1902Hollidaysburg sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Allegheny Township.

The story

How Allegheny Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Allegheny Township.

Read it all →

Allegheny was laid out in 1788 according to a plan by John Redick. The lots were sold in Philadelphia by Pennsylvania's state government or given as payment to Revolutionary War veterans. It was incorporated as a borough in 1828 and as a city in 1840. Prior to the 1850s, most of the area was still largely farmland, but was subdivided into residential lots, first for the growing German population and later for Croat immigrants. It was commonly referred to as "Deutschtown", derived from the German word Deutsch, referring to the language and ethnicity.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Allegheny Township in 1911

Passages that mention Allegheny Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

When five years old, William J. Bradley was taken to a farm in Allegheny Township and lived there with his mother until 1855, at which time he began work in the boiler shops of the Pa. Railroad Company, at Altoona, and from there enlisted for service in the Civil War. He became a member of Co. H, 3…
Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania1911 · page 702Read the page →
Read the text

When five years old, William J. Bradley was taken to a farm in Allegheny Township and lived there with his mother until 1855, at which time he began work in the boiler shops of the Pa. Railroad Company, at Altoona, and from there enlisted for service in the Civil War. He became a member of Co. H, 3rd Pa. Vol. Inf., and served out his

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

Allegheny Township, 1788 to 1906

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1788
    FoundingAllegheny Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1800In the archiveAllegheny Commons RR tracks 1800s
  5. 1840In the archiveUS 1880s Allegheny PA Laundry Blue Inks Medicines Advertising Cover
  6. 1844Born hereMary Cassatt is born here
  7. 1852Born hereCharles Taze Russell is born here
  8. 1859In the archiveThe Presbyterian historical almanac and annual remembrancer of the church (1859)
  9. 1860In the archiveCarnegie Hall, Allegheny, Pa.Alternate Title: Pittsburgh and Allegheny. 1752
  10. 1874Born hereGertrude Stein is born here
  11. 1879In the archiveMap of Pittsburgh and Alleghany, drawn from the Official Plans, records and actual surveys
  12. 1879Born hereLois Weber is born here
  13. 1890In the archiveMusic hall, Carnegie Library and music hall, Allegheny City, Pennyslvania
  14. 1898Post officeThe Beryl post office opens
  15. 20th century
  16. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  17. 1906Post officeThe Beryl post office closes
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

US 1880s Allegheny PA Laundry Blue Inks Medicines Advertising Cover
Retake this viewUS 1880s Allegheny PA Laundry Blue Inks Medicines Advertising Cover, 1840s

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Allegheny Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Allegheny Township, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,0001840186018801900132,283

Grew from 2,801 people in 1830 to 132,283 in 1910, more than tenfold.

9 censuses, 1830–1910.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Allegheny Township’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

36 famous people were born in Allegheny Township

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

See all →
Mary CassattAmerican painter and printmaker · b. 1844
Gertrude SteinAmerican author · b. 1874
C
Charles Taze RussellFounder of the Bible Student movement · b. 1852
Lois WeberAmerican actor/film director · b. 1879
John White AlexanderAmerican illustrator · b. 1856
Harry ToddAmerican actor · b. 1863
Help out

Finish Allegheny Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUS 1880s Allegheny PA Laundry Blue Inks…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

DuncansvilleIts storyB+Juniata Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLogan Township3 historic placesB+Blair TownshipIts storyCSunbrookIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTunnelhillIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFrankstown TownshipIts storyC+EldoradoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHollidaysburg4 historic placesA+Cresson Township1 historic placeC

Questions about Allegheny Township’s history

What year was Allegheny Township founded?

In 1788, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Allegheny Township’s post office opened in 1898, and the census of 1830 counted 2,801 people here.

How does Allegheny Township rank for history?

Allegheny Township is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #752 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.

How old are the homes in Allegheny Township?

11% of Allegheny Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1979.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (22), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), 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.