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A−History
History · Colwyn

Colwyn dates to 1698, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1900.

1698founded
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Colwyn began

When was Colwyn founded?

1698

Colwyn dates its founding to 1698 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 1,226 in 19002020 census: 2,474328 years

How historic is Colwyn?

A−

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1891.
History grade

What drives Colwyn’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colwyn is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colwyn’s overall grade.
Founding era1698, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194039.4% of homes (±12.4) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational 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 84%
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 Colwyn’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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1698.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.4 points).

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 Colwyn’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 18944 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1994. Watch Colwyn change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1698, 78 years before the Declaration of Independence.Old housesHalf of Colwyn’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Colwyn’s collection

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

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

Colwyn on the map, 1894 to 1994

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

Colwyn on the 1894 USGS mapColwyn on the 1967 USGS mapColwyn on the 1973 USGS mapColwyn on the 1994 USGS map1894Chester 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 Colwyn.

Timeline

Colwyn, 1698 to 1922

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1698
    FoundingColwyn is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1891Post officeThe Colwyn post office opens
  5. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1907Post officeThe Colwyn post office closes
  8. 1919In the archiveSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, 19…
  9. 1922Born hereJoe Wilder is born here
The story so far

Colwyn, in brief

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

Colwyn is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Colwyn had a population of 2,474.

Colwyn was established in 1698. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,546 to 2,474 (-3%).

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

By decade

Colwyn, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, 1919, Plate 01041919Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delawar…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, 1919, Plate 01051919Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delawar…Map
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
Today5 recent
New Life Baptist2015New Life BaptistCrozier Memorial2015Crozier MemorialColwyn School PA2015Colwyn School PAColwyn Borough Hall PA2015Colwyn Borough Hall PAColwyn, Delaware County, Pennsylvania2007Colwyn, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
People over time

Colwyn, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,169

Between 1,226 and 3,169 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Colwyn had its own post office from 1891 to 1907.

Colwyn
1891–1907
18901960today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Philadelphia615 historic placesA+Sharon HillIts storyB−Darby1 historic placeADarby TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Colwyn’s history

What year was Colwyn founded?

In 1698, according to Wikidata. Colwyn’s post office opened in 1891, and the census of 1900 counted 1,226 people here.

How does Colwyn rank for history?

Colwyn is more historic than 84% 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 Colwyn?

39% of Colwyn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1951.

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 (7), 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.