Dawson’s post office opened in 1853, and 80% of its homes were built before 1940
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 107 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1880.
The Dawson post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1866. Another post office, Dawson's Station (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 453 in 18802020 census: 352173 years
Founding year: the first Dawson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1866.The full story ↓
What stands out about Dawson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The land where Dawson was developed had belonged to John Smilie, who held multiple public offices in the government of Pennsylvania and was a member of Congress when he died in December 1812. The property remained in a trust as a part of Smilie's estate, until his last child died in 1851, when the property was sold.
The "bottom land" where Dawson is situated was acquired by John Smilie's granddaughter, Sarah Huston Dawson, and her second husband, George Dawson.
Passages that mention Dawson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania1882 · page 800Read the page →
Read the text
said town at Dawson's Station be incorporated into a borough in conformity with the prayer of the petitioners; that the corporate style and title thereof shall be the borough of Dawson," giving the boundaries in detail. It was further provided that the first election should be held at the school-house in the said borough on the 31st day of August, 1872. At the time designated the following-named ofiicers were
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
tioned the projection, in 18G6, about what was then known as Dawson's Station, on the line of the Pittsburgh and Connellsvijle Railroad, of a village, now incorporated as tlie borough of Dawson, on a tract of land there lying, and of which he about that time f the eminent tutelage of 1 of legal talent, when he finished his legal studies
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1852, aroused the citizens of Uniontown to immediate action, and on the 11th of January, following, a rousing railroad meeting assembled at the court house over which the Honorable John Dawson presided. A stirring address was delivered by James Veech, Esq., in which he depicted the wonderful prosperity that would accrue to the citizens of Fayette county by the advent of a railroad. At the close of his address Mr. Veech offered the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted : Resolved
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
Dawson, 1853 to 1920
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dawson. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Connellsville 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 Dawson.
Every building
Dawson, building by building, 1897–1910
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.
1897Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewDawson, Pennsylvania 1902, 1902
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dawson’s page.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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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