Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Delmont’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Delmont is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #227 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Delmont’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 Delmont’s 245 sits above most of its state (92% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 64 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1814.
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 (±4.7 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 Delmont’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Delmont was initially known as New Salem. The 300 acres of land was warranted to William Wilson in 1784, and upon his arrival in 1785, he named the area New Salem. In 1812, a post office was established in New Salem, "Salem X Roads" (Salem Crossroads), Pennsylvania. Hugh Bigham was the first postmaster. Wilson continued to farm on the land until he died in 1796.
Passages that mention Delmont, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania1906 · page 567Read the page →
Read the text
Walton engaged in it, placing a large number of teams upon the road and practically establishing a regular freight line, which he operated successfully, for a period of fourteen years. During this time lie became well acquainted along the pike, and the thriving village of Delmont, together with its excellent hotel, met his approval to such an extent as to cause him to open negotiations for the purchase of the latter, which culminated in his taking possession of that property in 1850. This hotel, which was erected by Henry Hugus about the year 1S40, was a noted resting place on the long stage line passing through
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
Delmont, 1814 to 2010
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1814, according to Wikidata. Delmont’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1850 counted 299 people here.
How does Delmont rank for history?
Delmont is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #227 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 Delmont?
One place: the Salem Crossroads Historic District (listed 1978).
How old are the homes in Delmont?
14% of Delmont’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1977.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.