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BHistory
History · Castle Shannon

Castle Shannon dates to 1786, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #555 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1880.

1786founded
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Castle Shannon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Castle Shannon began

When was Castle Shannon founded?

1786

Castle Shannon dates its founding to 1786 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 306 in 18802020 census: 8,249240 years

How historic is Castle Shannon?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Castle Shannon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Castle Shannon is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #555 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Castle Shannon’s overall grade.
Founding era1786, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194022.6% of homes (±6.0) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+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 64%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 46%

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 Castle Shannon’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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1786.
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 (±6.0 points).

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 Castle Shannon’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 12,036 in 1970; 8,249 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19045 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1993. Watch Castle Shannon change.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1966–1994.Deep rootsEstablished in 1786: 240 years of Castle Shannon.
★ What stands out · People over time

Castle Shannon, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 12,036

Peaked at 12,036 in 1970; 8,249 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Castle Shannon on the map, 1904 to 1993

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

Castle Shannon on the 1904 USGS mapCastle Shannon on the 1953 USGS mapCastle Shannon on the 1960 USGS mapCastle Shannon on the 1979 USGS mapCastle Shannon on the 1993 USGS map1904Carnegie 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 Castle Shannon.

By decade

Castle Shannon, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1960s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s8 items
19660808 04 PAT PCC196619660808 04 PAT PCC19660808 05 PAT 1793196619660808 05 PAT 179319660808 06 PAT PCC196619660808 06 PAT PCC19680526 64 PAT 1636 1646196819680526 64 PAT 1636 164619680526 66 PAT M454 Willow Ave. in196819680526 66 PAT M454 Willow Ave. in19680526 67 PAT 1636 M454196819680526 67 PAT 1636 M45419680526 71 PAT M-454 Martin Villa196819680526 71 PAT M-454 Martin Villa19680526 73 PAT 1636 Pennsylvania Blvd196819680526 73 PAT 1636 Pennsylvania Blvd
1980s–1990s4 items
19830624 16 PAT 1722198319830624 16 PAT 172219880619 07 PAT PCC198819880619 07 PAT PCC19940529 12 PAT LRT199419940529 12 PAT LRT19940529 17 PAT LRT199419940529 17 PAT LRT
The story

How Castle Shannon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Castle Shannon.

Read it all →

The first families settled Castle Shannon in 1786 in pursuit of farmland and timber and is widely assumed to be the Haas family. The most prominent farm was owned by David Strawbridge. Following common practices of Irish settlers—primarily from Ulster—in the region to name places and farms after former or ancestral homes in Ireland, he named it Castle Shanahan.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Castle Shannon in 1889

Passages that mention Castle Shannon, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Milton D. Hays has been an active businessman in this county. He and J. Reamer organized the Castle Shannon Railroad company, and laid out the town of Castle Shannon. At present he is a ranchman in the west.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 378Read the page →
Read the text

Milton D. Hays has been an active businessman in this county. He and J. Reamer organized the Castle Shannon Railroad company, and laid out the town of Castle Shannon. At present he is a ranchman in the west.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Milton D. Hays has been an active businessman in this county. He and J. Reamer organized the Castle Shannon Railroad company, and laid out the town of Castle Shannon. At present he is a ranchman in the west.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 378Read the page →
Read the text

Milton D. Hays has been an active businessman in this county. He and J. Reamer organized the Castle Shannon Railroad company, and laid out the town of Castle Shannon. At present he is a ranchman in the west.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Early in this century there were two gristmills in this township, both on Saw-Mill run, one at Castle Shannon and the other at Fairhaven. Both have gone to decay, and a steam mill has taken the place of the one at Fairhaven. A sawmill was located near each of these primitive gristmills. A fulling-m…
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 54Read the page →
Read the text

Early in this century there were two gristmills in this township, both on Saw-Mill run, one at Castle Shannon and the other at Fairhaven. Both have gone to decay, and a steam mill has taken the place of the one at Fairhaven. A sawmill was located near each of these primitive gristmills. A fulling-mill stood a few hundred yards above the mill at Castle Shannon, and at an early day it was conducted by Thomas Roland, a son of John Roland, the owner of the gristmill.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Early in this century there were two gristmills in this township, both on Saw-Mill run, one at Castle Shannon and the other at Fairhaven. Both have gone to decay, and a steam mill has taken the place of the one at Fairhaven. A sawmill was located near each of these primitive gristmills. A fulling-m…
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 54Read the page →
Read the text

Early in this century there were two gristmills in this township, both on Saw-Mill run, one at Castle Shannon and the other at Fairhaven. Both have gone to decay, and a steam mill has taken the place of the one at Fairhaven. A sawmill was located near each of these primitive gristmills. A fulling-mill stood a few hundred yards above the mill at Castle Shannon, and at an early day it was conducted by Thomas Roland, a son of John Roland, the owner of the gristmill.

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

Castle Shannon, 1786 to 1994

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1786
    FoundingCastle Shannon is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1966In the archive19660808 04 PAT PCC
  6. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 12,036
  7. 1983In the archive19830624 16 PAT 1722
  8. 1994In the archive19940529 12 PAT LRT
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.

19660808 04 PAT PCC
Retake this view19660808 04 PAT PCC, 1966

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Linden Grove
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Castle Shannon
Old Saint AnneRowland FamilySaint Anne

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Castle Shannon’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view19660808 04 PAT PCC: 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.

Mount Lebanon1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBaldwin TownshipIts storyDWhitehallIts storyDBethel ParkIts storyCPittsburgh189 historic placesA+

Questions about Castle Shannon’s history

What year was Castle Shannon founded?

In 1786, according to Wikidata. the census of 1880 counted 306 people here.

How does Castle Shannon rank for history?

Castle Shannon is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #555 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Castle Shannon?

23% of Castle Shannon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1955.

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 (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.