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History · Birmingham

Birmingham dates to 1797, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1923 on, and the census since 1820.

1797founded
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Birmingham’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Birmingham began

When was Birmingham founded?

1797

Birmingham dates its founding to 1797 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 43 in 18202020 census: 89229 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1817.The full story ↓

What stands out about Birmingham’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 266 in 1850; 90 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Birmingham’s homes were built before 1953.Deep rootsEstablished in 1797: 229 years of Birmingham.On the map since 19237 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1994. Watch Birmingham change.
★ What stands out · People over time

Birmingham, census by census

01002001850190019502000Peak: 266

Peaked at 266 in 1850; 90 people lived here in 2020.

20 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

The story

How Birmingham came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Birmingham.

Read it all →

Birmingham is the site of the Birmingham Window, a geologic structure created by a Paleozoic thrust fault.

Birmingham's early settler, John Cadwallader, settled on a hill above the Little Juniata River and made plans to establish a large city. In the first several decades of the 19th century, the village grew quickly as a hub for commerce being carried on the Little Juniata River and on the nearby Pennsylvania Canal. By 1850, the Pennsylvania Railroad had passed through the valley. The development of the railroad diminished the importance of Birmingham as a trading hub since the railroad's nearby hubs in Tyrone and Altoona grew quickly on land that was better suited for development.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Birmingham, 1797 to 1958

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1797
    FoundingBirmingham is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1817Post officeThe Birmingham post office opens
  5. 1850CensusPopulation peaks at 266
  6. 1860In the archiveStereograph of D. Gault's house at Birmingham Chester C. Penn
  7. 1870In the archiveBirmingham Station.Alternate Title: Scenery of the Pennsylvania Railroad
  8. 20th century
  9. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1958Post officeThe Birmingham post office closes
By decade

Birmingham, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1870s3 items
Stereograph of D. Gault's house at Birmingham Chester C. Penn1860Stereograph of D. Gault's house at Birmingham Chester…Birmingham Station.Alternate Title: Scenery of the Pennsylvania Railroadc. 1870Birmingham Station.Alternate Title: Scenery of the Pe…Birmingham Station.Alternate Title: Scenery of the Pennsylvania Railroadc. 1870Birmingham Station.Alternate Title: Scenery of the Pe…
Date unknown4 to date
Birmingham Octagonal SchoolhouseDate?Birmingham Octagonal SchoolhouseBirmingham Friends MeetinghouseDate?Birmingham Friends MeetinghouseSharpless HouseDate?Sharpless HouseThomas Darlington House, 228 West Street Road (Thornbury Township)Date?Thomas Darlington House, 228 West Street Road (Thornb…
Today4 recent
PA 453 nb entering Birmingham, Aug. 20242024PA 453 nb entering Birmingham, Aug. 2024Birmingham PA Presbyterian built 19532016Birmingham PA Presbyterian built 1953Birmingham Huntingdon Co PA2016Birmingham Huntingdon Co PAGrierSchool2006GrierSchool
On the map

Birmingham on the map, 1923 to 1994

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

Birmingham on the 1923 USGS mapBirmingham on the 1933 USGS mapBirmingham on the 1946 USGS mapBirmingham on the 1963 USGS mapBirmingham on the 1972 USGS mapBirmingham on the 1981 USGS mapBirmingham on the 1994 USGS map1923Tyrone 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 Birmingham.

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.

Stereograph of D. Gault's house at Birmingham Chester C. Penn
Retake this viewStereograph of D. Gault's house at Birmingham Chester C. Penn, 1860

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Birmingham had its own post office from 1817 to 1958.

Birmingham
1817–1958
18101920today
1cemetery inside Birmingham
Birmingham

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Birmingham’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewStereograph of D. Gault's house at Birm…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Warriors Mark Township1 historic placeA−Tyrone Township3 historic placesB+

Questions about Birmingham’s history

What year was Birmingham founded?

In 1797, according to Wikidata. Birmingham’s post office opened in 1817, and the census of 1820 counted 43 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 (6), the Library of Congress (5), 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.