Conshohocken dates to 1820, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #248 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Washington Hose and Steam Fire Engine Company, No. 1. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1836.
History grade
What drives Conshohocken’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Conshohocken is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #248 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Conshohocken’s overall grade.
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 Conshohocken’s 1.1 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
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 (±5.5 points). Two sources give 1820.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Conshohocken’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Conshohocken yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Conshohocken ( KON-shə-HOK-ən; Lenape: Kanshihàkink) is a borough on the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in suburban Philadelphia. Historically a large mill town and industrial and manufacturing center, after the decline of industry in recent years Conshohocken has developed into a center of riverfront commercial and residential development. In the regional slang, it is sometimes referred to by the colloquial nickname Conshy ( KON-shee). As of the 2020 census, Conshohocken had a population of 9,261. The sister community of West Conshohocken is located on the opposite side of the Schuylkill River.
Conshohocken was established in 1820. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 7,833 to 9,261 (+18%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Conshohocken, 1884–1923
Passages that mention Conshohocken, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania1923 · page 358Read the page →
Read the text
Conshohocken — From records and from the recent Year Book issued by the Recorder Publishing Company, the facts herein stated have been largely compiled: By an act of the General Assembly, May 15, 1850, the village of Conshohocken, in the townships of Plymouth and Whitemarsh, was erected into a borough. The village lay on both sides of the Whitemarsh and Plymouth turnpike. The borough was laid out with an area of one mile square, and its boundaries have never been extended.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania1923 · page 19Read the page →
Read the text
From the Chester county line to the Schuylkill at West Conshohocken there is no difficulty whatever in finding excellent exposures of trap, especially along the river at West Conshohocken, where there is an abutment of trap and numerous weathered boulders along the railroad. Between Conshohocken and Marble Hall the dyke can be traced easily. It passes directly through Conshohocken and crosses five of the county roads before it reaches Marble Hall ; between these two points there are many loose boulders of rock. From Marble Hall to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania1884 · page 1072Read the page →
Read the text
The Plymouth Railroad extends from Conshohocken to Oreland, where it forms a junction with the North Pennsylvania road, a distance of two miles, with stations at Flourtown and Orelaud. It was extended to the latter place in 1868, and cost, with the additional equipment, about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Both these railroads are operated by the Reading Railroad Company, who have leased
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
Conshohocken, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
In 1820, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Conshohocken’s post office opened in 1836, and the census of 1850 counted 727 people here.
How does Conshohocken rank for history?
Conshohocken is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #248 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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.
What is on the National Register in Conshohocken?
One place: the Washington Hose and Steam Fire Engine Company, No. 1 (listed 1975).
How old are the homes in Conshohocken?
36% of Conshohocken’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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, 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.
1933
1933
1933
