Ashland dates to 1820, and 71% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #176 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ashland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ashland is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #176 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ashland’s overall grade.
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 Ashland’s 4.3 sits above most of its state (65% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1820.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 points).
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 →
What stands out about Ashland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ashland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1889Catawissa 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 Ashland.
Every building
Ashland, building by building, 1885–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
For a long time after southern Pennsylvania was settled, the area that is now Ashland was mostly wilderness except for a hotel in the area in 1820. A prominent citizen of the county, Burd S. Patterson, however, predicted that the area would eventually become a prominent mining town. In 1845, John P. Brock and James Hart joined Patterson in buying 800 acres (320 ha) of land in the Ashland area. In 1846, a group of miners led by Patrick Devine developed coal seams in veins in the area. However, the town progressed little over the next three years. By 1857, though, the town had 3,500 people, and Ashland became a borough, detaching itself from Butler Township. The first post office was built in 1853, and the first church was built in 1855.
Passages that mention Ashland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania ... including a genealogical and biographical record of many families and persons in the county1907 · page 234Read the page →
Read the text
township and two in Butler township. His early life was spent on the farm and during the long vacations he drove a log team between Columbia county and the Delaware river. In 1854 he located in Ashland to take charge of the store of Jonathan Faust and the postoffice, Mr. Faust being then in service as the first postmaster of Ashland. For eight years he was in the employ of Mr. Faust, and during that period opened for him the first store established in Gordon. Then he came to Girardville, in 1862. and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania1916 · page 296Read the page →
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Nelson Clayton, the father of R. Bruce Clayton, was bom at Catawissa, Columbia county, and lived at Ashland, Schuylkill Co., Pa., from 1853 to the end of his life. By trade he was a carpenter, but after coming to Ashland he was engaged in business for several years, establishing a flour and feed store, which he carried on until 1859. Thereafter he was employed at his trade until his death, which occurred in 1878. At one time he served as assessor of Ashland. He married Mary Jane Zarr, a native of Union county. Pa., daughter of Benjamin Zarr, who was a pioneer of Union county; he was a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania1916 · page 106Read the page →
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carpenter. Upon coming to Schuylkill county in 1847 he first located at Ashland, thence removing to Middleport, where he became engaged by the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company at his trade, as foreman in charge of the building of bridges and stations. He built a number of breakers for individual coal operators. When he gave up work for the railroad company he became employed in one of the boat works at Landingville, in 1S58 beginning the building of boats on his own account, meeting with such success that he did the principal business of the county in his day and locality. He often
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania ... including a genealogical and biographical record of many families and persons in the county1907 · page 60Read the page →
Read the text
pioneers of Pennsylvania. The subject of this sketch attended the common schools until he reached his seventeenth year, when he left home and went to work on a farm near Gettysburg. He remained there two years and then went to Ashland, Md., where he held the position of stable foreman for a large concern. From Ashland he returned to Audenreid, Carbon county, and there remained for a period of twenty-five years in the employ of the Lehigh & Wilkes P>arre Coal Company as a stationary engineer.
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
Ashland, 1820 to 1966
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1820, according to Wikidata. Ashland’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1850 counted 224 people here.
How does Ashland rank for history?
Ashland is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #176 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.
What is on the National Register in Ashland?
One place: the Mothers’ Memorial, Hoffman Memorial, and Veterans’ Memorial (listed 2020).
How old are the homes in Ashland?
71% of Ashland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.
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), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
c. 1930
c. 1930
c. 1930
c. 1930