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History · Clark

Clark dates to 1829, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1880.

1829founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Clark began

When was Clark founded?

1829

Clark dates its founding to 1829 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 264 in 18802020 census: 576197 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1833.The full story ↓

What stands out about Clark’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 Clark are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19084 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1981. Watch Clark change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1829: 197 years of Clark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clark’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clark’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Clark on the map, 1908 to 1981

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

Clark on the 1908 USGS mapClark on the 1958 USGS mapClark on the 1970 USGS mapClark on the 1981 USGS map1908Shenango 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 Clark.

Timeline

Clark, 1829 to 1908

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1829
    FoundingClark is established
  3. 1833Post officeThe Clark post office opens
  4. 1854Born hereAlbert Bushnell Hart is born here
  5. 1856Born hereLillian Hoxie Picken is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Clark came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clark.

Read it all →

Clarksville was laid out in 1829 by Samuel Clark, the owner of the land upon which the site was located. Originally, forty-nine

lots were laid out and sold. Clarksville was officially incorporated as a borough on May 5, 1848. In the early 1960s, the entire village was moved to allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a Shenango River dam for flood control near Sharpsville. A new village site was laid out on property south of the old town. The original community moved to the present site following the construction of the dam, which was completed in 1965. In 1968, the town's new identity of Clark was established.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Clark in 1888

Passages that mention Clark, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Clarksville was laid out in 1829 by Samuel Clark, the owner of the land upon which the site is located, and recorded September 13, 1832. Forty-nine lots were laid out and sold. From the plat now on record we find that the streets were Mill, Bridge, Orchard, Meadow and Second. It was incorporated on…
History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 499Read the page →
Read the text

Clarksville was laid out in 1829 by Samuel Clark, the owner of the land upon which the site is located, and recorded September 13, 1832. Forty-nine lots were laid out and sold. From the plat now on record we find that the streets were Mill, Bridge, Orchard, Meadow and Second. It was incorporated on May 5, 1848. The first list of officers embraced the following: Burgess, Charles Koonce; council, John Wilson, William White, James Trumbull,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
built a saw-mill on the land afterward owned by Isaac Slater. Other mills followed in due time, notably McDowell’ s saw mill, built in 1854, on the banks of Otter Creek, by George McDowell; Clark’s steam mill, built in the fall of 1869, by Thomas and Joseph Clark, and the Mosteller steam mill, erec…
History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 524Read the page →
Read the text

built a saw-mill on the land afterward owned by Isaac Slater. Other mills followed in due time, notably McDowell’ s saw mill, built in 1854, on the banks of Otter Creek, by George McDowell; Clark’s steam mill, built in the fall of 1869, by Thomas and Joseph Clark, and the Mosteller steam mill, erected nearly the same time. There have been other minor mills, and also temporary structures, but these will not be noticed.

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.

By decade

Clark, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Milton south of Nora2019Milton south of NoraPennsylvania State Route 2582013Pennsylvania State Route 258
People over time

Clark, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 667

Between 216 and 667 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Clark

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

See all →
Albert Bushnell HartAmerican historian · b. 1854
Lillian Hoxie PickenAmerican educator; textbook writer · b. 1856
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Pymatuning Township1 historic placeB−South Pymatuning TownshipIts storyC+Hermitage1 historic placeB

Questions about Clark’s history

What year was Clark founded?

In 1829, according to Wikidata. Clark’s post office opened in 1833, and the census of 1880 counted 264 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 (2), 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.