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B+History
History · Beaver Falls

Beaver Falls’ post office opened in 1867, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #445 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Carnegie Free Library, Beaver Falls. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.

1867first post office
1on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
16old photos & papers
28famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Beaver Falls’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Beaver Falls began

When was Beaver Falls founded?

1867

The Beaver Falls post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1868. Another post office, Brighton (1818), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 3,112 in 18702020 census: 9,005159 years

How historic is Beaver Falls?

B+

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Beaver Falls post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1868.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Beaver Falls’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Beaver Falls is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #445 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Beaver Falls’ overall grade.
Founding era1867, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194057.0% of homes (±4.8) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 1.1 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 72%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 57%

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 Beaver Falls’ 1.1 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±4.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1868 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Beaver Falls’ past

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

Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1921, drew every building in Beaver Falls.Old housesHalf of Beaver Falls’ homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 17,375 in 1950; 9,005 people lived here in 2020.A town in old photos16 old photos, postcards and papers, 1905–1940.
★ What stands out · Every building

Beaver Falls, building by building, 1886–1921

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.

Beaver Falls fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 11
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Beaver Falls came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Beaver Falls.

Read it all →

The area of present-day Beaver Falls was first mentioned in 1770 in the journals of David Zeisberger, a Moravian Church missionary who eventually settled in present-day Lawrence County. A Lenape chief named Pakanke took Zeisberger to the valley surrounding the Beaver River, where the Lenape owned a large tract of open land which Zeisberger was given access to. In April 1770, Zeisberger and his followers set out in 16 canoes down the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, reaching the mouth of the Beaver three days later. They made their way up to what was called the “Falls of the Beaver," where they encamped. The town originally formed around the middle falls area was named Brighton after Brighton, England, which was the hometown of the area's surveyors.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Beaver Falls, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 17,375

Peaked at 17,375 in 1950; 9,005 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Timeline

Beaver Falls, 1818 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1818Post officeThe Brighton post office opens
  3. 1857Post officeThe Brighton post office closes
  4. 1867Post officeThe Beaver Falls post office opens
  5. 1889Born hereThomas Midgley is born here
  6. 1899BuiltCarnegie Free Library, Beaver Falls is built
  7. 20th century
  8. 1905In the archiveView of the Falls and City
  9. 1910In the archiveElla M. George (The Scranton Truth, 1910)
  10. 1926Born hereW. D. Snodgrass is born here
  11. 1930In the archiveBrodhead Hotel -- Beaver Falls, Pa (69377)
  12. 1930Born hereTony Lip is born here
  13. 1940In the archiveSaturday afternoon shoppers
  14. 1943Born hereJoe Namath is born here
  15. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 17,375
  16. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Beaver Falls, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s7 items
View of the Falls and City1905View of the Falls and CityGeneral View of Beaver Falls, Pa1905General View of Beaver Falls, PaCountry Club House1905Country Club HouseView on the Beaver Creek from Falls Deck1907View on the Beaver Creek from Falls DeckCarnival day, 7th Ave1907Carnival day, 7th AveDam No. 31907Dam No. 3Panorama view of1909Panorama view of
1910s–1940s9 items
Ella M. George (The Scranton Truth, 1910)1910Ella M. George (The Scranton Truth, 1910)(12) The Beaver Falls Factory1911(12) The Beaver Falls FactoryBrodhead Hotel -- Beaver Falls, Pa (69377)c. 1930Brodhead Hotel -- Beaver Falls, Pa (69377)Saturday afternoon shoppers1940Saturday afternoon shoppersInside the abandoned Howard Stove Works1940Inside the abandoned Howard Stove WorksInside the abandoned Howard Stove Works1940Inside the abandoned Howard Stove WorksMain street1940Main streetInterior of abandoned Howard Stove Works1940Interior of abandoned Howard Stove WorksNegro family living in slum area1940Negro family living in slum area
1950s–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
On the map

Beaver Falls on the map, 1957 to 1979

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

Beaver Falls on the 1957 USGS mapBeaver Falls on the 1969 USGS mapBeaver Falls on the 1979 USGS map1957Beaver Falls sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

View of the Falls and City
Retake this viewView of the Falls and City, 1905

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Beaver Falls

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Carnegie Free Library, Beaver Falls
Carnegie Free Library, Beaver Falls, built 1899
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical1
Carnegie Free Library, Beaver FallsNeo-Classical · Built 1899

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

28 famous people were born in Beaver Falls

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

See all →
T
Thomas MidgleyAmerican chemist and engineer · b. 1889
Joe NamathAmerican football player · b. 1943
T
Tony LipAmerican actor · b. 1930
W
W. D. SnodgrassAmerican poet · b. 1926
Lance JeterAmerican basketball player · b. 1988
Papa John CreachAmerican violinist · b. 1917
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Beaver Falls’s post office has been open since 1867. Another post office, Brighton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Brighton
1818–1857
Beaver Falls
1867–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
College HillMoradoMount Washington
Gone or out of use
Beaver Falls Middle Schoolschool

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

Help out

Finish Beaver Falls’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewView of the Falls and City: 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.

West MayfieldIts storyCWhite TownshipIts storyB−Big BeaverIts storyBDaugherty TownshipIts storyC+North Sewickley Township1 historic placeA−New Brighton2 historic placesAEastvaleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Beaver Falls’ history

What year was Beaver Falls founded?

The Beaver Falls post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1868.

How does Beaver Falls rank for history?

Beaver Falls is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #445 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 Beaver Falls?

One place: the Carnegie Free Library, Beaver Falls (listed 1985).

How old are the homes in Beaver Falls?

57% of Beaver Falls’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.

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 (4), the Library of Congress (12), Wikidata (1), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.