Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1900.
The Avonmore post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1893.
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 Avonmore’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Avonmore. 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 Avonmore.
Peaked at 1,367 in 1950; 900 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Avonmore’s Wikipedia page.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Avonmore yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Avonmore is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 901 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1891. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,011 to 900 (-11%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Avonmore, cut from the printed page as they were published.
that time he went to Ligonier to put in and adjust the machinery of the Booth and Flvnn mills, a task which occupied him two years. LTpon its completion he took a position with the Pennsylvania railroad company, which he held three years, and in 1892 moved to Avonmore, where he has since resided. He has been instrumental in the building of many of the principal structures in that borough, the churches and a number of the best residences being monuments ofdiis handiwork. In 1903 he erected the building of the National Cast Steel ■Company, in whose service he has continued to the present time. He is a Re-
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 sheet.
1913Sheet 1 of 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 Avonmore’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Avonmore post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1893.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.
Date?
2022
2019