The story
Read it all →How Burgettstown came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Burgettstown.
Burgettstown was laid out in 1795 by Sebastian Burgett, and named for him.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Burgettstown
Burgettstown dates to 1795, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1880.
1795founded
0on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
6famous people
Quick answers
How Burgettstown began
When was Burgettstown founded?
1795
Burgettstown dates its founding to 1795 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.
First census: 876 in 18802020 census: 1,425231 years
How historic is Burgettstown?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1811.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Burgettstown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Burgettstown is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Burgettstown’s overall grade.
Founding era1795, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194052.8% of homes (±11.5) · 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 77%
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 Burgettstown’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 B− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.5 points). Two sources give 1795.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Burgettstown’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Burgettstown’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,497 in 1940; 1,425 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1977. Watch Burgettstown change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Burgettstown’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Burgettstown’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Burgettstown, census by census
Peaked at 2,497 in 1940; 1,425 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Burgettstown’s Wikipedia page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Burgettstown, 1882–1910
Passages that mention Burgettstown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Washington County, Pennsylvania1882 · page 920Read the page →
Read the text
1880, gave notice that application would be made to ~the Court of Quarter Sessions of Washington County at the January term, 1881, " to incorporate the village of Burgettstown, including that portion thereof which, lies at and around Burgettstown Station." The grand jury passed favorably upon the petition on the 12th January, 1881, and the court confirmed the action on the 23d of March following, and further provided
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
20th century history of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania1910 · page 684Read the page →
Read the text
County from Adams County, Ohio. Mr. Taylor engaged in farming but became interested also in other enterprises. He is secretary and treasurer of the Burgettstown Publishing Company of Burgettstown, of which he is a large stockholder. He is also a stockholder of the Washington National Bank of Burgettstown, of which he was formerly vice president; has been either president or vice president of the Union Agricultural Association of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Washington County, Pennsylvania1882 · page 919Read the page →
Read the text
The new town which has sprung up (chiefly within the past fifteen years) on the line of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad, about one mile north of Old Burgettstown, and which, together with the old town, has recently been formed and incorporated into the borough of Burgettstown, was started in 1854, as a result of the then recently projected construction of the Pittsburgh and Steubenville Railroad,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
20th century history of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania1910 · page 586Read the page →
Read the text
later in Cumberland and still later in Washington counties, and took a business course at the Iron City Commercial College at Pittsburg. He then went into the lumber business at Burgettstown and the firm was first known as Armour and Linn, but later became Linn Bros. After his marriage he continued to reside at Burgettstown until 1900, when he moved to McKeesport, where he resided until August 16, 1909, when he returned
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Burgettstown, 1795 to 1940
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1795FoundingBurgettstown is established
- 19th century
- 1811Post officeThe Burgettstown post office opens
- 1869
Born hereJohn D. Fredericks is born here - 20th century
- 1904
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1908Born hereRobert Linn is born here
- 1920Born hereEddie Lukon is born here
- 1923
In the archiveBurgettstown PA Westminster PHS092 - 1928
Born hereGustave Diamond is born here - 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 2,497
By decade
Burgettstown, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
19231930s–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 albumToday13 recent
2012Pennsylvania State Route 18
2012Pennsylvania State Route 18
2012Our Lady of Lourdes Church (Burgettstown, Pennsylvani…
2012Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
2012Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
2012Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
2012Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
2012Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
2012Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
2012Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
2012Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
2012Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookOn the map
Burgettstown on the map, 1904 to 1977
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Burgettstown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Burgettstown 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 Burgettstown.
Every building
Burgettstown, building by building, 1908–1915
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1908Sheet 1 of 6Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 viewBurgettstown PA Westminster PHS092, 1923
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Burgettstown’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →6 famous people were born in Burgettstown
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
R
Robert LinnAmerican mayor · b. 1908E
Eddie LukonAmerican baseball player · b. 1920T
Thomas A. HolmesAmerican surveyor, trader, and politician · b. 1804
Questions about Burgettstown’s history
What year was Burgettstown founded?
In 1795, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Burgettstown’s post office opened in 1811, and the census of 1880 counted 876 people here.
How does Burgettstown rank for history?
Burgettstown is more historic than 77% 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 Burgettstown?
53% of Burgettstown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.5 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 Wikimedia Commons (15), Wikipedia, 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.