Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Duboistown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Duboistown is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Duboistown’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 Duboistown’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1773.
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 (±5.5 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 Duboistown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Duboistown (pronounced 'doo-BOYS town') is named for its founders John and Mathias DuBois who bought 489 acres (1.98 km2) of land between 1852 and 1857. The DuBois brothers divided their land into parcels and established the village that bears their name. John DuBois left the West Branch Susquehanna Valley before Duboistown was established as a borough. He sold his business interests and moved west to Clearfield County. He became quite wealthy and the city of DuBois was named in his honor.
Passages that mention Duboistown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania1929 · page 179Read the page →
Read the text
The importance of the site at Duboistown for lumber operations early attracted the interest of those engaged in the business, not only because of the timber that could be brought down Mosquito Creek, but also because of the fact that it was conveniently situated near the lower end of the Susquehanna boom. The first modern saw mill to be erected on the south side of the river was built at Duboistown by Major James H. Perkins, in 1854. It stood just a little west of the mouth of Mos-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania1929 · page 178Read the page →
Read the text
Duboistown.—Armstrong township on the south side of the river opposite the city of Williamsport has the unique distinction of being one of two townships in Lycoming out of which two boroughs have been created, and another interesting fact is that the older of the two is the smaller and has grown the slower. Duboistown stands on historic ground and every foot of the surrounding territory is filled with interest. The borough is located on a high plateau which was originally covered with
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.
In 1773, according to Wikidata. Duboistown’s post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1880 counted 662 people here.
How does Duboistown rank for history?
Duboistown is more historic than 80% 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 Duboistown?
30% of Duboistown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1951.
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), 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 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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