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History · Chapman

Chapman dates to 1850, and 62% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1870.

1850founded
0on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Nicholas A. Tonelli · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Chapman began

When was Chapman founded?

1850

Chapman dates its founding to 1850 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 388 in 18702020 census: 223176 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓

What stands out about Chapman’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 Chapman are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Chapman’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19145 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1992. Watch Chapman change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chapman’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chapman’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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The story

How Chapman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chapman.

Read it all →

Chapman was named for William Chapman, who owned slate quarries in the borough. Chapman was from Cornwall, England. He was born in 1816 in Mt. Tonenshau in Brussels, where his mother had gone to nurse his father after being severely injured in the Battle of Waterloo. At the age of seven, Chapman began working in the Delabole slate quarries in Cornwall, where his father worked. At the age of 26, Chapman emigrated to the United States, where he leased property in Northampton County and later purchased the property and started the Chapman Slate Company.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Chapman on the map, 1914 to 1992

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

Chapman on the 1914 USGS mapChapman on the 1943 USGS mapChapman on the 1960 USGS mapChapman on the 1970 USGS mapChapman on the 1992 USGS map1914Wind Gap 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 Chapman.

Timeline

Chapman, 1850 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850
    FoundingChapman is established
  3. 1864Post officeThe Chapman Quarries post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1937Post officeThe Chapman Quarries post office closes
By decade

Chapman, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Chapman, Northampton Co., PA borough hall, Feb. 20242024Chapman, Northampton Co., PA borough hall, Feb. 2024Chapmans Quarries2008Chapmans Quarries
People over time

Chapman, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 392

Between 191 and 392 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Chapman

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

See all →
Marco AndrettiAmerican race car driver · b. 1987
Samuel Henry KressAmerican businessman and philanthropist (1863-1… · b. 1863
Sage KaramAmerican racing driver · b. 1995
Dorothy PageAmerican actress · b. 1904
Arthur Granville DewaltAmerican politician · b. 1854
B
Buck FreemanAmerican baseball player · b. 1871
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Another post office, Chapman Quarries, opened and closed inside today’s town.

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

Questions about Chapman’s history

What year was Chapman founded?

In 1850, according to Wikidata. Chapman’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1870 counted 388 people here.

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 (2), 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.