Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 5 old photos and papers from 1930 on and old-book passages.
Emsworth dates its founding to 1802 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1852.
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Emsworth is more historic than 75% 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 Emsworth’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.
From Wikipedia’s history of Emsworth.
The Court of Quarter Sessions established the Borough of Emsworth on July 14, 1896, by combining the villages of Clifton and Emsworth out of old Killbuck Township.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereEd Stauffer is born here
In the archiveAdministration and main building, Holy Family Institute, Emsworth, Pittsburg 2, Pa (77099)
In the archivePAAC PCC 1676 waiting to start its run as a -13 EMWORTH car north of Pittsburgh, PA on Ju…Passages that mention Emsworth, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The Pittsburgh, Fort W ayne & Chicago railroad passes through the township, with stations at Laurel, Emsworth, Clifton and Dixmont. The line of this road and of Beaver road is a continuous succession of villages and fine residences. Emsworth, at the mouth of Lowrie’s run, was first known as Courtney ville, from David and William Courtney, who settled in the vicinity in 1803. The first settler, however, was John Cheney, by whom the first mill was built. The town has grown rapidly within the last few years.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad passes through the township, with stations at Laurel, Emsworth, Clifton and Dixmont. The line of this road and of Beaver road is a continuous succession of villages and fine residences. Emsworth, at the mouth of Lowrie's run, was first known as Courtneyville, from David and William Courtney, who settled in the vicinity in 1803. The first settler, however, was John Cheney, by whom the first mill yfas built. The town has grown rapidly within the last few years.
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.
2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
c. 1930Administration and main building, Holy Family Institu…
c. 1930Gymnasium and recreation building, Holy Family Instit…
c. 1930Interior of Chapel, Holy Family Institute, Emsworth, …
c. 1930Nursery home -- Holy Family Institute -- Emsworth, PA…1965PAAC PCC 1676 waiting to start its run as a -13 EMWOR…No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Emsworth’s page.
Retake this view · +15Emsworth had its own post office from 1872 to 1903. Another post office, Courtneyville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1802, according to Wikidata. Emsworth’s post office opened in 1852.
Emsworth is more historic than 75% 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.
40% of Emsworth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1950.
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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2007