Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1860.
Chicora dates its founding to 1830 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chicora’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chicora yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Chicora is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Chicora had a population of 916.
Chicora was established in 1830. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,043 to 916 (-12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyPassages that mention Chicora, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Mater Dolorosa congregation of Chicora is the last of the missions which continued to be visited from Sugar Creek as a center. The present church was dedicated on November 7, 1875, by the Rev.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
when a portion of the citizens concluded they wanted a new name. An effort was made at first to change the name of the borough, but this failed, and the postmaster-general was then petitioned to change the name of the postoffice to Chicora. The effort met with great opposition, and the patrons of the office were divided on the question. The descendants of the Barnhart family and their friends fought the proposed change with unflagging determination. Hut finally Postmaster-General Wannamaker granted the petition, and Barnhart's Mills became Chicora on October 1, 1891. In July. 1888, it was advanced to a third-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
farms east of the old town of Greece City. P. C. Frederick struck a fair producer in the vicinity of Hendersonville, in Cranberry Township, and wells were found on the Byers farm, and on the Pontius farm east of Chicora. The Tebay well, near North Washington, was completed in December, 1893, and proved a paying one. Other successful ventures of the same year was Purviance & Company’s well, on the Shorts farm, in Connoquenessing Township; the Phillips Company’s wells on the Eichenlaub and Oertell farms at Herman Station,
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chicora. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chicora.
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.
1906Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 181 and 1,192 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chicora’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1830, according to Wikidata. Chicora’s post office opened in 1891, and the census of 1860 counted 181 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), 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.
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