Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Christiana’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Christiana is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Christiana’s overall grade.
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 Christiana’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.0 points). Two sources give 1833.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Christiana’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Present-day Christiana was once known as Nobleville. The current name honors Christiana Noble, the wife of one of the first settlers.
On September 11, 1851, Christiana was the site of the Battle of Christiana (also called the Christiana Riot), in which the local residents defended with firearms a fugitive slave, killing the slaveowner. Southerners demanded the hanging of those responsible, accusing them of treason and waging war against the United States. However, after the first defendant was acquitted, the government dropped the case.
The trial was the first nationally covered challenge to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
Passages that mention Christiana, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania1883Read the page →
Read the text
Christiana Presbyterian Church.— Prior to 1859 there was no Presbyterian Society in Christiana and no house of worship of that denomination, and the ten- Presbyterians residing there belonged to the church at Atglen. In that year a chapel was erected in Christiana, and a Sunday-school was establishcil there. This chapel was built by general subscription, and Rev. Jame.s Latta, then of Atglen, was actively
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania1883Read the page →
Read the text
in his native i?tate, he purchased a farm in Bart township of one hundred and eight acres, which he carried on for about six years. He then purchased a farm of thirty acres adjoining the village of Christiana, the birthplace of the renowned jihysician and surgeon.
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.
On the map
Christiana on the map, 1943 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Christiana. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1943Coatesville 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 Christiana.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Lancaster County - ED 36-1, ED 36-2, ED 36-3, ED 36-4, E…, 1850
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Christiana’s page.
In 1833, according to Wikidata. Christiana’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1880 counted 469 people here.
How does Christiana rank for history?
Christiana is more historic than 77% 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.
How old are the homes in Christiana?
49% of Christiana’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1941.
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 (18), 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 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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