Corry’s post office opened in 1861, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns · #232 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 204 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Corry post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Corry’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Corry is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #232 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Corry’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 Corry’s 335 sits above most of its state (93% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 205 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% 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 (±8.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Corry’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Corry, building by building, 1886–1915
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 year, then a sheet.
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.
Erie County was formed from parts of Allegheny County on March 12, 1800. On May 27, 1861, tracks owned by the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad intersected with those of the Sunbury and Erie Railroad and was called the "Atlantic and Erie Junction". Land at the junction was owned by Hiram Cory, who sold a portion to the Atlantic and Great Western in October 1861. The railroad built a ticket office at the junction and named it for Cory, but through a misspelling it became Corry.
Passages that mention Corry, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania1909Read the page →
Read the text
Locating on that farm the following year, he continued its improvement, and at the same time worked at his trade, erecting the first building on the present site of Corry, it being a school house built before the time of railroads in this vicinity. After Corry was platted, he built, for Dr. Burroughs, the first frame house of any size in the city, and continued his occupation of farmer and carpenter until late in life, when he retired from active pursuits, afterwards making his home with his son, Clarence L., in Corry, his death occurring at the venerable age of eighty-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Erie county, Pennsylvania1884 · page 829Read the page →
Read the text
Quite a bustling little settlement has sprung up within a few years on Hare Creek, four miles north of Corry. It consists of a Christian Church, Mutual Protective Hall, schoolhouse, saw mill and about a dozen residences. The Christian Church was dedicated in August, 1880. The society was organized several years before, and held its first meeting in the adjoining schoolhouse.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania1909Read the page →
Read the text
and zinc regions of Missouri, for four years living in either Granby or Joplin. Returning then to the Pennsylvania oil fields, he resided in Crawford county until 1885, when he located in Erie county, near Corry. Taking up his residence in the city of Corry in 1892, he soon afterwards erected the pleasant home that he has since occupied, it being situated at the corner of Center street and Columbus avenue.
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
Corry, 1861 to 1982
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Corry post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Corry rank for history?
Corry is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #232 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 Corry?
Two places: the Corry Armory (listed 1991) and the Corry Historic District (2022).
How old are the homes in Corry?
37% of Corry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 (8), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.
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