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History · Clarion Township

Clarion Township dates to 1839, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1850.

1839founded
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Clarion Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Clarion Township began

When was Clarion Township founded?

1839

Clarion Township dates its founding to 1839 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 719 in 18502020 census: 3,645187 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1854.

What stands out about Clarion Township’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Clarion Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 6,457 in 1990; 3,931 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19063 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1981. Watch Clarion Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1839: 187 years of Clarion Township.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Frampton
1854–1913
Day
1887–1908
Showers
1905–1932
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DayHendersonMechanicsvilleStone HouseWaterson
Gone or out of use
Frampton Post Officepost officeMaple Grove SchoolschoolShowers Post Officepost officeStrattanville Towertower
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clarion Township
AsburyCedarview Memorial ParkClarionHenderson FamilyImmaculate ConceptionNew Rehoboth - Greenville Presbyterian ChurchOld Seceder

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

People over time

Clarion Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0001850190019502000Peak: 6,457

Peaked at 6,457 in 1990; 3,931 people lived here in 2020.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

On the map

Clarion Township on the map, 1906 to 1981

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

Clarion Township on the 1906 USGS mapClarion Township on the 1968 USGS mapClarion Township on the 1981 USGS map1906Clarion 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 Clarion Township.

The story so far

Clarion Township, in brief

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

Clarion is a borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 3,931 at the 2020 census. It is located 77 miles (124 km) north-northeast of Pittsburgh along the Clarion River and is part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Clarion was settled in 1839 and incorporated in 1841. In the past, the surrounding area produced natural gas, oil, lumber and coal. It is home to the annual Autumn Leaf Festival and PennWest Clarion. The county courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Clarion Township was established in 1839. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,116 to 3,645 (-11%).

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

Timeline

Clarion Township, 1839 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1839
    FoundingClarion Township is established
  3. 1854Post officeThe Frampton post office opens
  4. 1887Post officeThe Day post office opens
  5. 1896In the archiveClarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania 1896
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900In the archiveMiddle year girls - physical training. Clarion State Normal School
  8. 1905Post officeThe Showers post office opens
  9. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1908Post officeThe Day post office closes
  11. 1913Post officeThe Frampton post office closes
  12. 1919In the archiveClarion State Normal School, Dec. 12, 1919
  13. 1932Post officeThe Showers post office closes
  14. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 6,457
By decade

Clarion Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1910s5 items
Clarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania 18961896Clarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania 1896Clarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania 18961896Clarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania 1896Middle year girls - physical training. Clarion State Normal School1900Middle year girls - physical training. Clarion State …McLaurin(1902) pic.150 Railraoad Bridge near1902McLaurin(1902) pic.150 Railraoad Bridge nearClarion State Normal School, Dec. 12, 19191919Clarion State Normal School, Dec. 12, 1919
1920s–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
Today13 recent
Clarion, Pennsylvania2012Clarion, PennsylvaniaClarion, Pennsylvania2012Clarion, PennsylvaniaClarion ALF Main Street2011Clarion ALF Main StreetALF main street2011ALF main streetUS Route 322 - Pennsylvania2009US Route 322 - PennsylvaniaPennsylvania State Route 682009Pennsylvania State Route 68Clarion, Pennsylvania2009Clarion, PennsylvaniaClarion, Pennsylvania2009Clarion, PennsylvaniaClarion, Pennsylvania2009Clarion, PennsylvaniaClarion, Pennsylvania2009Clarion, PennsylvaniaClarion, Pennsylvania2009Clarion, PennsylvaniaClarion River Rock2009Clarion River RockSub Delivery2008Sub Delivery
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.

Clarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania 1896
Retake this viewClarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania 1896, 1896

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Clarion Township’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewClarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania 1…: 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.

Millcreek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClarion2 historic placesAHighland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPaint TownshipIts storyC−Monroe TownshipIts storyB−Limestone TownshipIts storyB+Union TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Clarion Township’s history

What year was Clarion Township founded?

In 1839, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Clarion Township’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1850 counted 719 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (16), the Library of Congress (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.