The story
Read it all →How Ben Avon came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Ben Avon.
Ben Avon was incorporated as a borough in January 1891, from Kilbuck Township.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
BHistory
History · Ben Avon
Ben Avon’s post office opened in 1891, and 70% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 57% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1900.
1891first post office
0on the National Register
70%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
How Ben Avon began
When was Ben Avon founded?
1891
The Ben Avon post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 859 in 19002020 census: 1,918135 years
How historic is Ben Avon?
B
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ben Avon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ben Avon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ben Avon is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ben Avon’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194069.5% of homes (±7.1) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National 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 57%
NewerOlder
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 Ben Avon’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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Ben Avon’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.Old housesHalf of Ben Avon’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,713 in 1970; 1,918 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19065 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1993. Watch Ben Avon change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Ben Avon’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ben Avon’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Ben Avon, census by census
Peaked at 2,713 in 1970; 1,918 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ben Avon’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Ben Avon, 1891 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Ben Avon, decade by decade
Date unknown1 to date
Date?On the map
Ben Avon on the map, 1906 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ben Avon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Sewickley sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ben Avon.
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.
Retake this viewDalzell House, 228 Dalzell Avenue
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ben Avon’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Ben Avon
Nobody well known was born in Ben Avon itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Ben Avon had its own post office from 1891 to 1900.
Ben Avon
18901960today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Ben Avon’s history
What year was Ben Avon founded?
The Ben Avon post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ben Avon rank for history?
Ben Avon is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns. 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 Ben Avon?
70% of Ben Avon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 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.
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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.