Bangor dates to 1760, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #2 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1,013 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1870.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bangor’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bangor is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 2 inputs put Bangor near the top nationally; its National Register listings ranks highest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bangor’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 Bangor’s 1,964 sits above most of its state (99% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1,014 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1760.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.6 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 Bangor’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
On the map
Bangor on the map, 1891 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bangor. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Delaware Water Gap 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 Bangor.
Every building
Bangor, building by building, 1885–1923
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.
The borough was settled about 1760 and first incorporated in 1875. The founder and first Chief Burgess of Bangor was Robert M. Jones, an emigrant from Bangor, Wales. He was the prime mover in the establishment of the slate industry in Northampton County. Slate quarries pepper the area, but only a few are still functioning. A life-sized statue of him, dedicated on September 24, 1914, remains in the town center. The influence of Bangor, Wales is visible in the stone walls, square gardens, flowers, and greenery that mirror those of its Welsh namesake. Also like Bangor, Wales, Bangor, Pennsylvania has piles of slate residue and shale reminiscent of the area.
Passages that mention Bangor, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh under supervision and revision of William J. Heller, assisted by an advisory board of editors..1920 · page 51Read the page →
Read the text
capitalists, the Hay brothers built the first interurban street railway in this section, the line connecting Easton and Bethlehem. In 1898 they organized a company to build the line from Easton to Nazareth and from Nazareth to Bangor, and the same year began the construction of the Easton and Nazareth line, completing it in 1901. The Easton, Tatamy and Bangor street line was begun in 1902 and in 1903 being completed was consolidated with the Easton and Nazareth line as the Northampton Traction Company, the consolidated company operating from Easton to Nazareth and to .Bangor. Thomas was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh under supervision and revision of William J. Heller, assisted by an advisory board of editors..1920 · page 505Read the page →
Read the text
.'N.ckermansville, about two miles south of Bangor, in the western portion of Washington township, is a small community of about fifty houses. It is a station on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, with the usual mercantile establishments of a village of its size. The Ackermansville Evangelical Church is the only house of worship. Its pastor in 1915 was Rev. Anton E. Miller.
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
Bangor, 1760 to 1937
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 1760, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bangor’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1880 counted 1,328 people here.
How does Bangor rank for history?
Bangor is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #2 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 Bangor?
Three places: the Real Estate Building (listed 1986), the Bridge in Bangor Borough (1988) and the Bangor Historic District (2014).
How old are the homes in Bangor?
53% of Bangor’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.6 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 (3), 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.
![52005.BB#001--Proposed location of towers of the Eastern Pennsylvania Power Company--Bangor, PA [1911.03.29]](https://images.townratings.com/story/15273/c23596c38bc5c1a8a09c-s.jpg)
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