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History · Beech Creek

Beech Creek dates to 1812, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1870.

1812founded
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Beech Creek’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Beech Creek began

When was Beech Creek founded?

1812

Beech Creek dates its founding to 1812 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 384 in 18702020 census: 736214 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1846.

What stands out about Beech Creek’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19214 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1973. Watch Beech Creek change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1812: 214 years of Beech Creek.Old housesHalf of Beech Creek’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Beech Creek’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBeech Creek RR 1915: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Beech Creek on the map, 1921 to 1973

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

Beech Creek on the 1921 USGS mapBeech Creek on the 1944 USGS mapBeech Creek on the 1967 USGS mapBeech Creek on the 1973 USGS map1921Howard 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 Beech Creek.

Timeline

Beech Creek, 1812 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1812
    FoundingBeech Creek is established
  3. 1846Post officeThe Beech Creek post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1915In the archiveBeech Creek RR 1915
  6. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1991Born hereBrittani Kline is born here
The story so far

Beech Creek, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Beech Creek yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Beech Creek is a borough in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Beech Creek had a population of 736. It is the setting for Fun Home, a 2006 graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel, who grew up there. Brittani Kline, winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 16, was born there.

Beech Creek was established in 1812. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 701 to 736 (+5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Beech Creek in 1892

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

The first school house in Beech Creek township was located on the left bank of Bald Eagle creek, a few rods above the bridge. A very short time after the erection of this house, a school was opened in the vicinity of Mill Hall, where the Beech Creek railroad station now stands, and two years later …
Historical and biographical work1892 · page 55Read the page →
Read the text

The first school house in Beech Creek township was located on the left bank of Bald Eagle creek, a few rods above the bridge. A very short time after the erection of this house, a school was opened in the vicinity of Mill Hall, where the Beech Creek railroad station now stands, and two years later a school building was erected about half a mile east of Mr. Packer's residence, on the site now occupied by the Harleman house. In 1834 a school house was built in

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
REVELTOWN, a deserted mining village of Clinton county, is located at what was known as the Revel Mines, about nine miles from the town of Beech Creek. The mines were operated and the town laid out in the year of 1853. The manager was an Englishman, named John Revel, sometimes called General Revel,…
Historical and biographical work1892 · page 377Read the page →
Read the text

REVELTOWN, a deserted mining village of Clinton county, is located at what was known as the Revel Mines, about nine miles from the town of Beech Creek. The mines were operated and the town laid out in the year of 1853. The manager was an Englishman, named John Revel, sometimes called General Revel, but by what authority he held his title we know not. The mines were operated by a company of New York men, who did busi-

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.

By decade

Beech Creek, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Beech Creek RR 19151915Beech Creek RR 1915
1920s–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
Today9 recent
PA 150 nb at Beech Creek bridge, Aug. 20242024PA 150 nb at Beech Creek bridge, Aug. 2024PA 150 in Beech Creek Borough, Aug. 20242024PA 150 in Beech Creek Borough, Aug. 2024Beech Creek PA Truth in Advertising2015Beech Creek PA Truth in AdvertisingBeech Creek PA Community Center2015Beech Creek PA Community CenterWaterfallPA2009WaterfallPAPArock2009PArockPAcreek2009PAcreekOldSchool2009OldSchoolCreekPA2009CreekPA
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.

Beech Creek RR 1915
Retake this viewBeech Creek RR 1915, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Beech Creek, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 760

Between 384 and 760 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Liberty Township1 historic placeA−Beech Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlanchardIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Beech Creek’s history

What year was Beech Creek founded?

In 1812, according to Wikidata. Beech Creek’s post office opened in 1846, and the census of 1870 counted 384 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), 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.