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Bessemer, Main from PolandPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
B−History
History · Bessemer

Bessemer’s post office opened in 1889, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1920.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bessemer’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bessemer began

When was Bessemer founded?

1889

The Bessemer post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1913.

First census: 1,417 in 19202020 census: 1,076137 years

How historic is Bessemer?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Bessemer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1913.
History grade

What drives Bessemer’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bessemer is more historic than 49% 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 Bessemer’s overall grade.
Founding era1889, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194031.7% of homes (±9.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational 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 49%
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 Bessemer’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 (±9.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1913.

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 Bessemer’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 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1979. Watch Bessemer change.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,001 in 1930; 1,073 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Bessemer’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bessemer’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view"F" and "G" blast furnaces - Edgar Thom…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Bessemer on the map, 1902 to 1979

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

Bessemer on the 1902 USGS mapBessemer on the 1958 USGS mapBessemer on the 1979 USGS map1902New Castle 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 Bessemer.

People over time

Bessemer, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,001

Peaked at 2,001 in 1930; 1,073 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story so far

Bessemer, in brief

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

Bessemer is a borough in western Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,073 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.

Its first post office opened in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,111 to 1,076 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Bessemer, 1886 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886In the archive"F" and "G" blast furnaces - Edgar Thomson Steel Works
  3. 1889Post officeThe Bessemer post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1915Born hereFrank M. Clark is born here
  7. 1917Born hereAlex Urban is born here
  8. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 2,001
By decade

Bessemer, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
"F" and "G" blast furnaces - Edgar Thomson Steel Works1886"F" and "G" blast furnaces - Edgar Thomson Steel Works
1890s–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
Today2 recent
2022-06-05 18 51 14 View east along Pennsylvania State Route 317 (East Poland Avenue) at Main Street in20222022-06-05 18 51 14 View east along Pennsylvania Stat…Bessemer, Main from Poland2014Bessemer, Main from Poland
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.

"F" and "G" blast furnaces - Edgar Thomson Steel Works
Retake this view"F" and "G" blast furnaces - Edgar Thomson Steel Works, 1886

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Bessemer

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

See all →
Frank M. ClarkAmerican politician · b. 1915
A
Alex UrbanAmerican football tight end · b. 1917

Questions about Bessemer’s history

What year was Bessemer founded?

The Bessemer post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1913.

How does Bessemer rank for history?

Bessemer is more historic than 49% 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 Bessemer?

32% of Bessemer’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1954.

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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), 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) 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.