Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1900.
The Bechtelsville post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1869.
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 Bechtelsville’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bechtelsville. 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 Bechtelsville.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bechtelsville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bechtelsville is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 884 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 942 to 884 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Bechtelsville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
ent carried on by William Hartsough, who has, also, a cigar-factory in which eight hands are employed. Adam Glase had the first store in 1858, having removed here from Bechtelsville. The present merchant is William Hines, also the keeper of the Bechtelsville post-office, established half a mile west, in 1852, with Isaac Bechtel as postmaster. In 1858 George M.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Norway Furnace, at Bechtelsville, is the property of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company. It was projected aud built by the Bechtelsville Iron Company, composed mainly of citizens of Washington township, in 1872-73, but owing to the panic coming on, it was never put in blast by the original owners.
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereCarl Mathias is born hereBetween 381 and 942 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bechtelsville’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Bechtelsville post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1869.
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 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.
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2018