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History · Benton

Benton dates to 1793, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.

1793founded
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Benton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Benton began

When was Benton founded?

1793

Benton dates its founding to 1793 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 191 in 18802020 census: 823233 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1835.The full story ↓

What stands out about Benton’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18945 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1975. Watch Benton change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1793: 233 years of Benton.Old housesHalf of Benton’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Benton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Benton’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 viewBenton PA 1st Presby Ch PHS56: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Benton on the map, 1894 to 1975

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

Benton on the 1894 USGS mapBenton on the 1947 USGS mapBenton on the 1953 USGS mapBenton on the 1969 USGS mapBenton on the 1975 USGS map1894Bloomsburg 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 Benton.

Timeline

Benton, 1793 to 1923

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1793
    FoundingBenton is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1835Post officeThe Benton post office opens
  5. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1923In the archiveBenton PA 1st Presby Ch PHS56
The story

How Benton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Benton.

Read it all →

The Benton area was first settled by two families in 1792. A schoolhouse was opened in 1799. Starting around 1860, tanning and lumber industries began to grow north of the borough. By 1868, Benton had about fifty houses. In the year of 1910, Benton was destroyed by a fire. Two teenagers lit firecrackers in a hay barn, which caught fire and caused over sixty buildings to burn, as the town did not yet have a water system. As a result, the Benton Dam was built in 1915. However, this was not the end of Benton's disasters. Another fire struck just one year later destroying more houses. Again in 1962, a fire ripped through the town, destroying the distillery and its warehouse containing over 17,000 bottles of whiskey. In 2011, Benton was also devastated by a flood. And on April 15, 2019, an EF2 tornado touched down in Benton, damaging nine trailers and up to 50 homes and businesses.[1] Despit…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Benton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s3 items
Benton PA 1st Presby Ch PHS561923Benton PA 1st Presby Ch PHS56Benton PA Place Presby Ch PHS571923Benton PA Place Presby Ch PHS57Benton PA Presby ch PHS581923Benton PA Presby ch PHS58
1930s–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
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.

Benton PA 1st Presby Ch PHS56
Retake this viewBenton PA 1st Presby Ch PHS56, 1923

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Benton, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,027

Between 191 and 1,027 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Benton’s history

What year was Benton founded?

In 1793, according to Wikidata. Benton’s post office opened in 1835, and the census of 1880 counted 191 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 (3), 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.