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Bradenville housesPhoto: BuzzWeiser196 · CC BY-SA 4.0
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History · Bradenville

Bradenville’s post office opened in 1851, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1900 on.

1851first post office
0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
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Photo: BuzzWeiser196 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Bradenville began

When was Bradenville founded?

1851

The Bradenville post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 487175 years
Founding year: the first Bradenville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bradenville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bradenville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19004 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1998. Watch Bradenville change.Old housesHalf of Bradenville’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bradenville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Bradenville on the map, 1900 to 1998

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

Bradenville on the 1900 USGS mapBradenville on the 1964 USGS mapBradenville on the 1973 USGS mapBradenville on the 1998 USGS map1900Latrobe 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 Bradenville.

The story

How Bradenville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bradenville.

Read it all →

The town was originally called St. Clair City. Served by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it supported coal mining and coking operations beginning in 1886, operated under the names St. Clair Mine & Coke Works, Bradenville Mine & Coke Works and Duquesne Mine & Coke Works.

Mathias W. Saxman's Bradenville Mine & Coke Works built about 40 company houses and a store in the town around 1914. By 1915, its Bradenville Mine employed 195 persons, produced over 110,000 tons of coal and operated 194 beehive coke ovens. The Bradenville Mine ceased operations in 1951.

Researchers in 1994 found that while the store (see Gallery section) and company houses survived, no mine structures remained.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Bradenville, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Bradenville PA store2020Bradenville PA store
Famous people

Famous people close to Bradenville

Nobody well known was born in Bradenville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Fred RogersAmerican television personality · b. 1928
Arnold PalmerAmerican golfer · b. 1929
Herbert BoyerAmerican researcher and businessman · b. 1936
Bruce WeberAmerican photographer · b. 1946
S
Sheila KelleyAmerican actress · b. 1961
Vic MignognaAmerican voice actor · b. 1962

Questions about Bradenville’s history

What year was Bradenville founded?

The Bradenville post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (1), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.