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C+History
History · Clairton

Clairton’s post office opened in 1901, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #865 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1910.

1901first post office
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
14famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Clairton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Clairton began

When was Clairton founded?

1901

The Clairton post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Mendelssohn (1891) and Wilson (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 3,326 in 19102020 census: 6,181125 years

How historic is Clairton?

C+

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Clairton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clairton is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #865 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clairton’s overall grade.
Founding era1901, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194045.4% of homes (±5.7) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 40%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 16%

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 Clairton’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 D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Clairton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 19,652 in 1950; 6,181 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Clairton, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19045 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1988. Watch Clairton change.Old housesHalf of Clairton’s homes were built before 1943.
★ What stands out · People over time

Clairton, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 19,652

Peaked at 19,652 in 1950; 6,181 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Clairton’s post office has been open since 1901. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mendelssohn
1891–1905
Clairton
1901–today
Wilson
1901–1924
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MendelssohnWilson
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clairton
Ascension of Our Lord Byzantine CatholicPeters CreekSaint Clare of Assisi

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

On the map

Clairton on the map, 1904 to 1988

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

Clairton on the 1904 USGS mapClairton on the 1953 USGS mapClairton on the 1960 USGS mapClairton on the 1979 USGS mapClairton on the 1988 USGS map1904Pittsburgh 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 Clairton.

The story

How Clairton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clairton.

Read it all →

Clairton's existence dates to just after the turn of the 20th century, when the Crucible Steel Company acquired a large tract along the west side of the Monongahela River, approximately 13 miles (21 km) south of Pittsburgh. Soon after, the Carnegie Steel Company (later U.S. Steel) built an integrated steel mill and coke production facility, which eventually became one of the world's largest.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Clairton, 1891 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Mendelssohn post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Post officeThe Clairton post office opens
  5. 1901Post officeThe Wilson post office opens
  6. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1905Post officeThe Mendelssohn post office closes
  8. 1924Post officeThe Wilson post office closes
  9. 1933In the archiveBlair Heights, Building No. 8, Maple Avenue
  10. 1947Born hereClaudine Schneider is born here
  11. 1947Born hereLarry Brown is born here
  12. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 19,652
  13. 1956Born hereLance Parrish is born here
  14. 1994Born hereTyler Boyd is born here
By decade

Clairton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s12 items
Blair Heights, Building No. 8, Maple Avenue1933Blair Heights, Building No. 8, Maple AvenueBlair Heights, Building No. 8, Maple Avenue1933Blair Heights, Building No. 8, Maple AvenueBlair Heights, Building No. 8, Maple Avenue1933Blair Heights, Building No. 8, Maple AvenueBlair Heights, Community Building, Maple Avenue1933Blair Heights, Community Building, Maple AvenueBlair Heights, Community Building, Maple Avenue1933Blair Heights, Community Building, Maple AvenueBlair Heights, Community Building, Maple Avenue1933Blair Heights, Community Building, Maple AvenueBlair Heights, Community Building, Maple Avenue1933Blair Heights, Community Building, Maple AvenueBlair Heights, State Street, Maple Avenue, Chamber and Francis Avenue1933Blair Heights, State Street, Maple Avenue, Chamber an…Blair Heights, State Street, Maple Avenue, Chamber and Francis Avenue1933Blair Heights, State Street, Maple Avenue, Chamber an…Blair Heights, State Street, Maple Avenue, Chamber and Francis Avenue1933Blair Heights, State Street, Maple Avenue, Chamber an…Blair Heights, State Street, Maple Avenue, Chamber and Francis Avenue1933Blair Heights, State Street, Maple Avenue, Chamber an…Blair Heights, State Street, Maple Avenue, Chamber and Francis Avenue1933Blair Heights, State Street, Maple Avenue, Chamber an…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Every building

Clairton, building by building, 1907–1924

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 year, then a sheet.

Clairton fire insurance map, 1907, sheet 11907Sheet 1 of 9
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Blair Heights, Building No. 8, Maple Avenue
Retake this viewBlair Heights, Building No. 8, Maple Avenue, 1933

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Clairton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

14 famous people were born in Clairton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Claudine SchneiderAmerican politician · b. 1947
Lance ParrishAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1956
Tyler BoydAmerican football player · b. 1994
Larry BrownAmerican football player · b. 1947
Reginald B. DesiderioUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1918
W
Wilbur TroschAmerican basketball coach and basketball player · b. 1938
Help out

Finish Clairton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBlair Heights, Building No. 8, Maple Av…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Jefferson Hills2 historic placesBLincolnIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGlassportIts storyB−West Mifflin1 historic placeB

Questions about Clairton’s history

What year was Clairton founded?

The Clairton post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Clairton rank for history?

Clairton is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #865 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Clairton?

45% of Clairton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1943.

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 (12), 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.