Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Elizabeth’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elizabeth is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elizabeth’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 Elizabeth’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 1787.
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 (±6.9 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 Elizabeth’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Elizabeth Town was founded in 1787 by Samuel Mackay, Colonel Stephen Bayard and his wife Elizabeth Mackay Bayard (for whom the town was named). Elizabeth was one of the first seven townships organized by Allegheny County the following year; the others being Moon, St. Clair, Mifflin, Versailles, Plum, and Pitt. The original Elizabeth Township comprised the entire triangle of land between the Monongahela and Youghiogheny Rivers. In addition to present-day Elizabeth Borough and Elizabeth Township, this also included areas which are now Forward Township, Lincoln Borough, Port Vue Borough, Liberty Borough, the City of Glassport, and the Tenth Ward of the City of McKeesport.
Peaked at 2,976 in 1940; 1,398 people lived here in 2020.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Elizabeth’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Elizabeth on the map, 1904 to 1988
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elizabeth. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Pittsburgh 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 Elizabeth.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Elizabeth in 1889
Passages that mention Elizabeth, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 87Read the page →
Read the text
Elizabeth was one of the seven original subdivisions of the county, and was erected in 1788. Its present limits were established in 1869. It borders upon the Monongahela river a distance of about a mile above the borough of Elizabeth, and upon the Youghiogheny about twelve miles. It also adjoins Westmoreland county. There are no streams of importance, and the general slope of the surface is northeast. The land is fertile and productive, though much of it has been under cultivation nearly a hundred years; and in addition to its advantages as a farming section, there is an apparently inexhaust-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 87Read the page →
Read the text
Elizabeth was one of the seven original subdivisions of the county, and was erected in 1788. Its present limits were established in 1869. It borders upon the Monongahela river a distance of about a mile above the borough of Elizabeth, and upon the Youghiogheny about twelve miles. It also adjoins Westmoreland county. There are no streams of importance, and the general slope of the surface is northeast. The land is fertile and productive, though much of it has been under cultivation nearly a hundred years; and in addition to its advantages as a farming section, there is an apparently inexhaust-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 106Read the page →
Read the text
Such a result can hardly be anticipated while the "company store" continues to be a cherished institution, however. Improved railway facilities would doubtless confer a great advantage upon the place. The Pittsburgh, Virginia & Charleston railroad was opened through West Elizabeth November 11, 1872. The Elizabeth packet-line was established in 1849, and the steam ferry in 1873. The projected route of the Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny, and of an extension of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie system, pass through the town. A bridge project is now under discussion.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 103Read the page →
Read the text
at Pittsburgh in 1822, although the number had reached eight in 1819, while sixteen were built in 1826. Harris’ Directory states that the first steamboat was built at Elizabeth in that year; and it is not improbable that the increased demand for vessels of that character indicated by the figures above given influenced the boat-builders at Elizabeth in making the innovation. There is also evidence that one steamboat, at least, was built prior to that time, the Western Navigator, a low-pressure boat, with one smokestack, four staterooms, and an uncovered paddle-wheel, launched May 10, 1815, byMaj. John Walker.
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
Elizabeth, 1787 to 1994
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.
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.
In 1787, according to Wikidata. Elizabeth’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1850 counted 1,120 people here.
How does Elizabeth rank for history?
Elizabeth is more historic than 77% 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 Elizabeth?
55% of Elizabeth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (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.
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