Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Chest Springs

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Chest Springs

Chest Springs dates to 1858, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1860.

1858founded
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Chest Springs began

When was Chest Springs founded?

1858

Chest Springs dates its founding to 1858 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 183 in 18602020 census: 140168 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1839.

What stands out about Chest Springs’ 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 Chest Springs are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1972. Watch Chest Springs change.Boom and bustPeaked at 305 in 1880; 140 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chest Springs’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Chest Springs on the map, 1902 to 1972

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

Chest Springs on the 1902 USGS mapChest Springs on the 1961 USGS mapChest Springs on the 1972 USGS map1902Patton 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 Chest Springs.

People over time

Chest Springs, census by census

0100200300190019502000Peak: 305

Peaked at 305 in 1880; 140 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

The story so far

Chest Springs, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chest Springs yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Chest Springs is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Chest Springs had a population of 140.

Chest Springs was established in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 149 to 140 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Chest Springs, 1839 to 1902

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1839Post officeThe Chess Springs post office opens
  3. 1858
    FoundingChest Springs is established
  4. 1873Post officeThe Chess Springs post office closes
  5. 1873Post officeThe Chest Springs post office opens
  6. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 305
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Chest Springs, decade by decade

Today3 recent
PA 36 sb in Chest Springs, Aug. 20242024PA 36 sb in Chest Springs, Aug. 2024PA 36 sb entering Chest Springs, Aug. 20242024PA 36 sb entering Chest Springs, Aug. 2024Columbia in2015Columbia in
Famous people

Famous people close to Chest Springs

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

See all →
Robert PearyExplorer from the United States · b. 1856
R
Rembert WeaklandAmerican archbishop · b. 1927
Alvin EvansUnion Army soldier, politician and banker · b. 1845
Edgar M. CortrightSenior NASA official-administrator and engineer… · b. 1923
J
James Russell LeechAmerican politician · b. 1888
F
Fern MichaelsAmerican writer · b. 1933
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Chest Springs’s post office has been open since 1873. Another post office, Chess Springs, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Chess Springs
1839–1873
Chest Springs
1873–today
18301930today
1cemetery inside Chest Springs
Chest Springs

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Allegheny TownshipIts storyBClearfield TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Chest Springs’ history

What year was Chest Springs founded?

In 1858, according to Wikidata. Chest Springs’ post office opened in 1839, and the census of 1860 counted 183 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 (3), 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.