Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to East Salem

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · East Salem

East Salem’s post office opened in 1852, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1907 on.

1852first post office
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How East Salem began

When was East Salem founded?

1852

The East Salem post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 169174 years
Founding year: the first East Salem post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about East Salem’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of East Salem are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19075 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1977. Watch East Salem change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start East Salem’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

East Salem on the map, 1907 to 1977

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

East Salem on the 1907 USGS mapEast Salem on the 1943 USGS mapEast Salem on the 1959 USGS mapEast Salem on the 1969 USGS mapEast Salem on the 1977 USGS map1907Millerstown 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 East Salem.

The story so far

East Salem, in brief

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

East Salem is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Delaware Township, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located at the junction of Pennsylvania Routes 333 and 235, 4 miles (6 km) north of the borough of Thompsontown. As of the 2010 census, the population was 186.

Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 186 to 169 (-9%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to East Salem

Nobody well known was born in East Salem itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
James Addams BeaverAmerican politician · b. 1837
T
Thomas MarkleAmerican lighting director and father of Meghan… · b. 1944
J. Hale SypherAmerican politician · b. 1837
J
James BlackAmerican politician · b. 1793
Joseph M. BelfordAmerican politician · b. 1852
S
Stan StartzellAmerican soccer player · b. 1950

Questions about East Salem’s history

What year was East Salem founded?

The East Salem post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.