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History · Coaldale

Coaldale dates to 1855, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1930 on, and the census since 1870.

1855founded
0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Coaldale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Coaldale began

When was Coaldale founded?

1855

Coaldale dates its founding to 1855 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 262 in 18702020 census: 126171 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1851.

What stands out about Coaldale’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 348 in 1900; 126 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Coaldale’s homes were built before 1941.
★ What stands out · People over time

Coaldale, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 348

Peaked at 348 in 1900; 126 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story so far

Coaldale, in brief

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

Coaldale is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census the borough population was 126. The post office serving Coaldale is called Six Mile Run.

Coaldale was established in 1855. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 161 to 126 (-22%).

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

Timeline

Coaldale, 1851 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Six Mile Run post office opens
  3. 1855
    FoundingCoaldale is established
  4. 1870Born hereE. E. Jones is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 348
  7. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1940In the archiveStreet
By decade

Coaldale, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s5 items
Street1940StreetBaseball diamond for children with slagpile in background. Coaldale, Pennsylvania1940Baseball diamond for children with slagpile in backgr…Street in the important anthracite town of Coaldale, Pennsylvania, showing huge coal bank in background1940Street in the important anthracite town of Coaldale, …Untitled photo, possibly related to: Street in the important anthracite town of Coaldale, Pennsylvania, showing huge co…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Street in the im…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Street in the important anthracite town of Coaldale, Pennsylvania, showing huge co…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Street in the im…
1950s–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
Today3 recent
Park and Main in2015Park and Main inMain Street in2015Main Street inFirst Church of God of2015First Church of God of
On the map

Coaldale on the map, 1930 to 1994

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

Coaldale on the 1930 USGS mapCoaldale on the 1968 USGS mapCoaldale on the 1973 USGS mapCoaldale on the 1981 USGS mapCoaldale on the 1994 USGS map1930Broad Top 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 Coaldale.

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.

Street
Retake this viewStreet, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Six Mile Run Post Officepost office

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

Help out

Finish Coaldale’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 viewStreet: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Coaldale’s history

What year was Coaldale founded?

In 1855, according to Wikidata. Coaldale’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1870 counted 262 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 (3), the Library of Congress (5), 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) 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.