The story
Read it all →How Clymer came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Clymer.
On 26 August 1926, forty-four people were killed in a coal mine explosion in Clymer.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C+History
History · Clymer
Clymer dates to 1905, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1910.
1905founded
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Clymer began
When was Clymer founded?
1905
Clymer dates its founding to 1905 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.
First census: 1,753 in 19102020 census: 1,321121 years
How historic is Clymer?
C+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1899.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clymer’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clymer is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clymer’s overall grade.
Founding era1905, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194049.8% of homes (±11.1) · 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 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 Clymer’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 (±11.1 points). Two sources give 1905.
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 Clymer’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 Clymer are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19024 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1981. Watch Clymer change.Boom and bustPeaked at 3,062 in 1940; 1,321 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Clymer’s homes were built before 1940.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Clymer’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clymer’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Clymer on the map, 1902 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clymer. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Indiana sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Clymer.
People over time
Clymer, census by census
Peaked at 3,062 in 1940; 1,321 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Clymer’s Wikipedia page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Clymer in 1913
Passages that mention Clymer, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Indiana County, Pennsylvania1913 · page 1419Read the page →
Read the text
Rayne, and Cherryhill townships, prospecting for coal and opening the mines in that vicinity. In 1905 he surveyed and laid out the town of Clymer, afterward assisting in its organization. He then became the city engineer, and also mining engineer for two large coal companies, Clearfield Bituminous Coal Corporation and Pioneer Coal Company, and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Indiana County, Pennsylvania1913 · page 1171Read the page →
Read the text
John H. McGuire attended school near where the town of Clymer is now situated. When a boy he did farm work, which he continued to follow until 1893, at that time moving to Indiana, where he lived for two years. While there he was engaged at the trade of carpenter, which he had learned, but he returned to farming for a time, moving
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.
Timeline
Clymer, 1899 to 1940
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1899Post officeThe Sample Pun post office opens
- 20th century
- 1902
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1905FoundingClymer is established
- 1906Post officeThe Clymer post office opens
- 1907Post officeThe Sample Pun post office closes
- 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 3,062
By decade
Clymer, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2015Every building
Clymer, building by building, 1911
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 sheet.
1911Sheet 1 of 5BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Clymer
Nobody well known was born in Clymer itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and old corners
Clymer’s post office has been open since 1906. Another post office, Sample Pun, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Sample Pun
Clymer
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Sample Run
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Clymer’s history
What year was Clymer founded?
In 1905, according to Wikidata. Clymer’s post office opened in 1899, and the census of 1910 counted 1,753 people here.
How does Clymer rank for history?
Clymer is more historic than 40% 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 Clymer?
50% of Clymer’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1940.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), Wikipedia, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.