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History · Chinchilla

Chinchilla’s post office opened in 1880, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

1880first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Chinchilla began

When was Chinchilla founded?

1880

The Chinchilla post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,959146 years
Founding year: the first Chinchilla post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Chinchilla’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 Chinchilla are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Chinchilla’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chinchilla’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chinchilla’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 so far

Chinchilla, in brief

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

Chinchilla is a village and census-designated place in Scott and South Abington townships, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The CDP's population was 2,098 at the time of the 2010 United States Census. It was known as "Leach's Flats" until supposedly renamed by a female postmaster in the 1880 after her chinchilla-fur shawl. Chinchilla is located in the gorge of Leggetts Creek, which flows southward into the Lackawanna River on the north side of Scranton. Interstate 81, U.S. Route 6/11 and the Norfolk Southern Railroad (former Lackawanna Railroad) use the gorge between Scranton and Clarks Summit. Chinchilla has its own post office, with ZIP Code 18410.

Its first post office opened in 1880. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,098 to 1,959 (-7%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Chinchilla

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

See all →
Howard GardnerAmerican developmental psychologist & academic · b. 1943
Jane JacobsAmerican–Canadian journalist, author, and activ… · b. 1916
Lizabeth ScottAmerican actress and singer · b. 1921
Robert ReichAmerican political economist · b. 1946
Mike J. DunleavyGovernor of Alaska since 2018 · b. 1961
Bob CaseyAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1960
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

South Abington TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Chinchilla’s history

What year was Chinchilla founded?

The Chinchilla post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 →