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BHistory
History · Cheswick

Cheswick’s post office opened in 1891, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Allegheny River Lock and Dam No. 3. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1910.

1891first post office
1on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cheswick began

When was Cheswick founded?

1891

The Cheswick post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1902.

First census: 317 in 19102020 census: 1,672135 years

How historic is Cheswick?

B

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Cheswick post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1902.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cheswick’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cheswick is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cheswick’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194016.6% of homes (±5.2) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 12.0 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 61%
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 Cheswick’s 12.0 sits above most of its state (79% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1902.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Cheswick’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 Cheswick are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,734 in 1960; 1,672 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19086 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1993. Watch Cheswick change.Old housesHalf of Cheswick’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cheswick’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cheswick’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
People over time

Cheswick, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,734

Peaked at 2,734 in 1960; 1,672 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

On the map

Cheswick on the map, 1908 to 1993

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

Cheswick on the 1908 USGS mapCheswick on the 1910 USGS mapCheswick on the 1953 USGS mapCheswick on the 1960 USGS mapCheswick on the 1979 USGS mapCheswick on the 1993 USGS map1908New Kensington 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 Cheswick.

The story

How Cheswick came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cheswick.

Read it all →

Cheswick, named for a town in England, is a small town of about 350 acres (1,400,000 m2). The history of the lands of Cheswick seems to have belonged to the Keen family at least in part, for Archie Pillow, or Pillar, as spelled in old records, inherited land from the Keen family. That land, in part, is where Cheswick is today. Archie's brother, George, once owned the second oldest house in the community. Thomas Pillow owned the land from Highland Avenue to the Harmar Township line.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cheswick, 1891 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Cheswick post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1923Born hereJames Stanley Marshall is born here
  6. 1932BuiltAllegheny River Lock and Dam No. 3 is built
  7. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 2,734
By decade

Cheswick, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Cheswick2022CheswickSpruce from Coolidge in2015Spruce from Coolidge inCheswick, Pennsylvania - Batimore to Minneapolis2009Cheswick, Pennsylvania - Batimore to MinneapolisCheswick, Pennsylvania - Airborne Batimore to Minneapolis2009Cheswick, Pennsylvania - Airborne Batimore to Minneap…Map of Allegheny County PA Highlighting2007Map of Allegheny County PA HighlightingMap
Every building

Cheswick, building by building, 1924

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 sheet.

Cheswick fire insurance map, 1924, sheet 11924Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Cheswick

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
Allegheny River Lock and Dam No. 3
Allegheny River Lock and Dam No. 3, built 1932
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Revival1
Allegheny River Lock and Dam No. 3Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Revival · Built 1932

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Springdale TownshipIts storyBPlum2 historic placesB+Harmar TownshipIts storyCSpringdale1 historic placeA

Questions about Cheswick’s history

What year was Cheswick founded?

The Cheswick post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1902.

How does Cheswick rank for history?

Cheswick is more historic than 61% 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.

What is on the National Register in Cheswick?

One place: the Allegheny River Lock and Dam No. 3 (listed 2000).

How old are the homes in Cheswick?

17% of Cheswick’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.