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History · Donegal

Donegal dates to 1796, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1922 on, and the census since 1870.

1796founded
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Donegal’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Donegal began, and where its name came from

When was Donegal founded?

1796

Donegal dates its founding to 1796 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 192 in 18702020 census: 102230 years

How did Donegal get its name?

Donegal was named after the town and county of Donegal in Ireland.

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1819. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What stands out about Donegal’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 258 in 1940; 102 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Donegal’s homes were built before 1952.On the map since 19227 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1993. Watch Donegal change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Donegal’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Donegal’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMonticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31... 300 …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Donegal, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 258

Peaked at 258 in 1940; 102 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Donegal’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Donegal, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Donegal yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

There are also three Donegal Townships in Pennsylvania. Donegal is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a distinct municipality from the adjacent Donegal Township. The population was 103 at the 2020 census. Donegal is best known as an exit on the Pennsylvania Turnpike with restaurants, gas stations, and two hotels for travelers. It was named after the town and county of Donegal in Ireland.

Donegal was established in 1796. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 120 to 102 (-15%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Donegal in 1906

Passages that mention Donegal, cut from the printed page as they were published.

He was reared to farm life under the parental roof, and assisted in the operation of the home farm until twenty-one years of age. He also carried the mail from Jones' Mill to Somerset, Pennsylvania, and on attaining his majority he .began farming on his own account, in Donegal township, on land bel…
History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania1906 · page 414Read the page →
Read the text

He was reared to farm life under the parental roof, and assisted in the operation of the home farm until twenty-one years of age. He also carried the mail from Jones' Mill to Somerset, Pennsylvania, and on attaining his majority he .began farming on his own account, in Donegal township, on land belonging to his father-in-law. This he continued to cultivate and improve for three years, at the end of which time he purchased a farm in Donegal township, located on the Four Mile Run and known as a part of the John Porch farm.

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

Donegal, 1796 to 1940

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1796
    FoundingDonegal is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1819Born hereJohn Cox Hupp is born here
  5. 1819Post officeThe Donegal post office opens
  6. 1830Born hereA. Milton Musser is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1930In the archiveMonticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31... 300 yards west from Penn. Turnpike Interchange... Done…
  10. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 258
By decade

Donegal, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Monticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31... 300 yards west from Penn. Turnpike Interchange... Donegal, Pennsylvania (87210)c. 1930Monticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31... 300 yards west fro…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today7 recent
Chestnut Ridge2026Chestnut RidgePA 31 eb entering Donegal, May 20242024PA 31 eb entering Donegal, May 2024Sunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (98)2015Sunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (98)Sunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (97)2015Sunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (97)Sunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (100)2015Sunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (100)Donegal Turnpike Interchange2015Donegal Turnpike InterchangeMain Street2009Main Street
On the map

Donegal on the map, 1922 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Donegal. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Donegal on the 1922 USGS mapDonegal on the 1935 USGS mapDonegal on the 1944 USGS mapDonegal on the 1957 USGS mapDonegal on the 1967 USGS mapDonegal on the 1973 USGS mapDonegal on the 1993 USGS map1922Donegal 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 Donegal.

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.

Monticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31... 300 yards west from Penn. Turnpike Interchange... Donegal, Pennsylvania (87210)
Retake this viewMonticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31... 300 yards west from Penn. Turnpike Interchange... Donegal, Pennsylvania (87210), c. 1930

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Donegal’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Donegal

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
A. Milton MusserAmerican Mormon pioneer · b. 1830
John Cox HuppAmerican physician · b. 1819

Questions about Donegal’s history

What year was Donegal founded?

In 1796, according to Wikidata. Donegal’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1870 counted 192 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (8), 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 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.