Founding year: the first Cresson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1902.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cresson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cresson is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cresson’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 Cresson’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 C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1902.
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 Cresson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
One of the first buildings in the area which would become Cresson was the Mountainhouse Hotel. The Queen Anne style structure was opened by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1881, sold to the Cresson Springs Co., and demolished in 1916. It was hoped to attract visitors from Pittsburgh and Johnstown looking for clean air and "therapeutic" mineral springs. Although itself unsuccessful, it led to the development of several other hotels, companies, and the town itself.
The area is currently known as the "Mountainhouse Grounds" to local residents and is in the midst of development. Several of the original cottages still stand, including those of Andrew Carnegie and Benjamin Jones.
Passages that mention Cresson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania1907 · page 32Read the page →
Read the text
county to the Somerset line. It appears to be substantially the same as was made when Huntingdon county was formed. This division line is particularly noticeable along the Cambria and Clearfield railroad from Cresson to Kaylor's Station, touching it at many points on the ridge, beginning at the west leg of the "Y" at Cresson. The station at Kaylor's is almost on the dividing line. A drop of water falling on the northeasterly side of the track will flow' into the Atlantic, and falling on the other side it
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania1907 · page 42Read the page →
Read the text
5. Cresson, taken from Cresson township by a decree of the court dated June 7, 1906, recorded in docket 17, at page 114. See Cresson township for name.
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
Cresson, 1854 to 1918
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Cresson post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1902.
How does Cresson rank for history?
Cresson is more historic than 51% 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 Cresson?
35% of Cresson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1949.
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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
c. 1870
c. 1870
c. 1870
1893