Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1900.
Elizabethville dates its founding to 1817 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.
Elizabethville was named for the wife of the original owner of the site.
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elizabethville is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Elizabethville’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elizabethville’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elizabethville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elizabethville.
From Wikipedia’s history of Elizabethville.
Elizabethville was founded in 1817. It was named for the wife of the original owner of the site. A post office has been in operation at Elizabethville since 1826. The borough was incorporated in 1893.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Elizabethville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Elizabethville, located in Washington township, was platted about 18 17, by John Bender, and for many years known as "Benderstoettle;" finally named Elizabethville, in honor to John Bender's wife Elizabeth.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
story frame edifice, with its antique and venerable steeple, stood until 1876, when the present building, a briclc structure ninety by fifty-five feet, was erected. It stands on a high ridge one mile from Berrysburg and three from Elizabethville, on land the congregation has owned since 1780. Union Salem Church (Lutheran and Refomied), was built in 1844, and rebuilt in 1873.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
2025Trinity United Methodist Church, Elizabethville, PA, …
2025Salem Lutheran Church, Elizabethville, PA, Sept. 2025
2025Elizabethville, PA Municipal Building, June 2025
2025Elizabethville Area Historical Society, Elizabethvill…
2025Elizabethville Area Branch Library, Elizabethville, P…
2011Swab Wagon CoFire 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 sheet.
1911Sheet 1 of 5Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 838 and 1,629 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Elizabethville’s Wikipedia page.
In 1817, according to Wikidata. Elizabethville’s post office opened in 1838, and the census of 1900 counted 838 people here.
Elizabethville is more historic than 76% 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.
44% of Elizabethville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1951.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), 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, 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.
