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Clearfield Township fields and woods from Schoolhouse DrivePhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
C+History
History · Clearfield Township

17% of Clearfield Township’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Clearfield Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Clearfield Township’s history

How historic is Clearfield Township?

C+

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Clearfield Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clearfield Township is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clearfield Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194017.3% of homes (±4.9) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational 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 41%
NewerOlder

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 Clearfield Township’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Clearfield Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1972. Watch Clearfield Township change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Clearfield Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clearfield Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewForest View, T, 8?0: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Clearfield Township on the map, 1902 to 1972

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

Clearfield Township on the 1902 USGS mapClearfield Township on the 1961 USGS mapClearfield Township on the 1972 USGS map1902Patton 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 Clearfield Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Saint Augustine, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Beaver ValleyNagles CrossroadSaint Augustine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clearfield Township
Saint AugustineSaint Marys

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

The story so far

Clearfield Township, in brief

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

Clearfield Township is a township in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,608 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,604 in 2010, 1,604 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Clearfield Township, 1855 to 1907

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Saint Augustine post office opens
  3. 1867In the archiveForest View, T, 8?0
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1907Post officeThe Saint Augustine post office closes
By decade

Clearfield Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Forest View, T, 8?01867Forest View, T, 8?0
Date unknown1 to date
Clearfield County National Bank & Dimeling Hotel, 1 North Second StreetDate?Clearfield County National Bank & Dimeling Hotel, 1 N…
Today4 recent
St. Mary's Cemetery, Clearfield Twp., Cambria Co., PA (2), Aug. 20242024St. Mary's Cemetery, Clearfield Twp., Cambria Co., PA…St. Mary's Cemetery, Clearfield Twp., Cambria Co., PA (1), Aug. 20242024St. Mary's Cemetery, Clearfield Twp., Cambria Co., PA…Faded Mail Pouch barn in Clearfield Twp., Cambria Co., PA, Aug. 20242024Faded Mail Pouch barn in Clearfield Twp., Cambria Co.…Clearfield Township fields and woods from Schoolhouse Drive2015Clearfield Township fields and woods from Schoolhouse…
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.

Forest View, T, 8?0
Retake this viewForest View, T, 8?0, 1867

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Clearfield Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80020002020Peak: 1,680

Between 1,604 and 1,680 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Clearfield Township

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

See all →
Robert PearyExplorer from the United States · b. 1856
Charlie CristUnited States Representative from 2017 to 2022 · b. 1956
Michael BeheAmerican biochemist, author, and intelligent de… · b. 1952
Janet BlairActress · b. 1921
A
Andrew Kevin WalkerAmerican screenwriter · b. 1964
Paul WinterAmerican saxophonist · b. 1939
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Dean TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast Carroll TownshipIts storyBAllegheny TownshipIts storyBPatton1 historic placeA+AshvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChest SpringsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWhite TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Clearfield Township’s history

How does Clearfield Township rank for history?

Clearfield Township is more historic than 41% 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 Clearfield Township?

17% of Clearfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (4), 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.