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BHistory
History · Baden

Baden dates to 1838, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #627 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1880.

1838founded
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Baden began

When was Baden founded?

1838

Baden dates its founding to 1838 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 400 in 18802020 census: 3,904188 years

How historic is Baden?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Baden’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Baden is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #627 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 Baden’s overall grade.
Founding era1838, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194016.6% of homes (±4.7) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational 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 58%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 39%

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 Baden’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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). Two sources give 1838.

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 Baden’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Baden are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 6,109 in 1960; 3,904 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19065 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1990. Watch Baden change.Old housesHalf of Baden’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Baden’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Baden’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Baden, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,109

Peaked at 6,109 in 1960; 3,904 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Baden on the map, 1906 to 1990

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

Baden on the 1906 USGS mapBaden on the 1953 USGS mapBaden on the 1969 USGS mapBaden on the 1979 USGS mapBaden on the 1990 USGS map1906Sewickley 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 Baden.

The story

How Baden came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Baden.

Read it all →

The site of Baden was the location of Logstown, a Native American village. The Treaty of Logstown was signed by representatives of the Iroquois Confederation, Lenape and Shawnee leaders there; George Washington visited the area to speak with the Natives himself under Queen Alliquippa. The oldest recorded house in Baden was built in the early 1800s, and it became a stopping place for farmers on their way to Pittsburgh to sell their livestock. Baden was founded as a village in 1838 and was named after the German resort town of Baden-Baden at the border of the Black Forest.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Baden in 1888

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

No streams of any size enter the Ohio fi-cim this township, but the Big Sewickley touches its southeast limits. The townshi]:>is well supplietl with limestone, red clay, sandstone and coal. The jn'incipaltown within its limits is the borough of Baden. liemington and Agneware stations on the P., Ft.…
History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 591Read the page →
Read the text

No streams of any size enter the Ohio fi-cim this township, but the Big Sewickley touches its southeast limits. The townshi]:>is well supplietl with limestone, red clay, sandstone and coal. The jn'incipaltown within its limits is the borough of Baden. liemington and Agneware stations on the P., Ft. W. & C. Ry. In the southeast part of the township is the small village of Wall Rose. It has a German Evangelical church, which was incorporated April 5, 1884, by Henry Gross, A. Haag, John Heil, B. Yeager, Andrew Rosenbaum and Philip Eisen-

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

Baden, 1838 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838
    FoundingBaden is established
  3. 1852Post officeThe Baden post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 6,109
By decade

Baden, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Baden Old Economy aerial 20241116 (3)2024Baden Old Economy aerial 20241116 (3)Baden Old Economy aerial 20241116 (2)2024Baden Old Economy aerial 20241116 (2)Baden Old Economy aerial 20241116 (1)2024Baden Old Economy aerial 20241116 (1)Christ Lutheran Church in2014Christ Lutheran Church inBerry south of Steele in2014Berry south of Steele inBaden Memorial Library2014Baden Memorial Library
Famous people

Famous people close to Baden

Nobody well known was born in Baden itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Pete MaravichAmerican basketball player · b. 1947
Lou ChristieAmerican singer · b. 1943
K
Katharine WayAmerican physicist · b. 1902
Christa HarmottoVolleyball player · b. 1986
Joe LetteriAmerican visual effects artist · b. 1957
Nancy HamiltonAmerican actress, playwright, lyricist, directo… · b. 1908
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

EconomyIts storyB−Harmony TownshipIts storyBAliquippa2 historic placesAHopewell Township1 historic placeC+

Questions about Baden’s history

What year was Baden founded?

In 1838, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Baden’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1880 counted 400 people here.

How does Baden rank for history?

Baden is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #627 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 Baden?

17% of Baden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1952.

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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.