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Finleyville, Pennsylvania borough buildingPhoto: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Finleyville

Finleyville’s post office opened in 1826, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1900.

1826first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Finleyville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Finleyville began

When was Finleyville founded?

1826

The Finleyville post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1896.

First census: 447 in 19002020 census: 376200 years
Founding year: the first Finleyville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1896.

What stands out about Finleyville’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 699 in 1940; 376 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1826: 200 years of Finleyville.Old housesHalf of Finleyville’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · People over time

Finleyville, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 699

Peaked at 699 in 1940; 376 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Finleyville’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Finleyville, 1826 to 1953

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1826Post officeThe Finleyville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903In the archiveFinleyville, PA oil derricks 1903
  5. 1913In the archiveFinleyville - at mouth of mine
  6. 1918Born hereWalter Sessi is born here
  7. 1934Born hereJim Barton is born here
  8. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 699
  9. 1952Born hereKen Bruzenak is born here
  10. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Finleyville, in brief

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

Finleyville is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, named for John Finley. The population was 375 at the 2020 census. It was built at the junction of Brownsville Road (now Pennsylvania Route 88) and the 'Washington Road' from Cox's Fort to Catfish Camp, now Washington, Pennsylvania. It was originally known as "Rowgalley" until after a large contingent of Scots-Irish came to town including a number of "Finleys." It is in the Peters Creek watershed.

Its first post office opened in 1826. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 461 to 376 (-18%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Finleyville, 1871–1910

Passages that mention Finleyville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

three miles away on the Monongahela River. In 1876 the Pittsburg & Southern Railroad narrow gauge was built through the farm and this railroad gave way to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad through Finleyville. He has seen the village of Finleyville grow from six houses, one store and one blacksmith sho…
20th century history of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania1910 · page 1174Read the page →
Read the text

three miles away on the Monongahela River. In 1876 the Pittsburg & Southern Railroad narrow gauge was built through the farm and this railroad gave way to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad through Finleyville. He has seen the village of Finleyville grow from six houses, one store and one blacksmith shop to a town of 600 population, being the center of business in the mining of coal in the district. He has also seen gas territory

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
he was engaged in the real estate business for about twenty years. Losing considerable money during the severe winter of 1894 and 1895, in 1898 he came to Washington County, Pa., locating at Finleyville, where he was engaged in the real estate business until 1900. The town of Donora being laid out …
20th century history of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania1910 · page 1352Read the page →
Read the text

he was engaged in the real estate business for about twenty years. Losing considerable money during the severe winter of 1894 and 1895, in 1898 he came to Washington County, Pa., locating at Finleyville, where he was engaged in the real estate business until 1900. The town of Donora being laid out at that time he purchased land there during the opening week, and has since erected twenty-four buildings, including four business blocks.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Finleyville is on the road from Washington to Pittsburg, 12 miles northeast of Washington. It was laid out by a sea-captain who purchased the land and named the place Rogue Alley, after the name of his ship. He sold it to James Finley and Mr. Mellinger, about 1790, from which time it bears the name…
History of Washington County1871 · page 242Read the page →
Read the text

Finleyville is on the road from Washington to Pittsburg, 12 miles northeast of Washington. It was laid out by a sea-captain who purchased the land and named the place Rogue Alley, after the name of his ship. He sold it to James Finley and Mr. Mellinger, about 1790, from which time it bears the name of Finleyville. It has a population of about eighty, and also an Odd Fellows' hall.

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.

By decade

Finleyville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s4 items
Finleyville, PA oil derricks 19031903Finleyville, PA oil derricks 1903Tom the Tinker (cropped)1906Tom the Tinker (cropped)Tom the Tinker1906Tom the TinkerFinleyville - at mouth of mine1913Finleyville - at mouth of mine
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Methodist Church, James Chapel, Gill Hall Road, Union TownshipDate?Methodist Church, James Chapel, Gill Hall Road, Union…
Today29 recent
RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0557)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0533)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0532)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0524)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0508)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0504)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0502)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0499)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0498)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0487)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0434)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0432)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0413)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0162)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0151)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0149)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0134)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0106)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0100)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0033)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0023)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0022)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0019)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0018)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0017)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD-LSC-0001)2021RD-Multifamily Housing-Union Valley Apts (20210902-RD…Finleyville, Pennsylvania business district2014Finleyville, Pennsylvania business districtFinleyville, Pennsylvania borough building2014Finleyville, Pennsylvania borough buildingFinleyville, Pennsylvania Lincoln Ave2014Finleyville, Pennsylvania Lincoln Ave
On the map

Finleyville on the map, 1953 to 1993

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

Finleyville on the 1953 USGS mapFinleyville on the 1969 USGS mapFinleyville on the 1979 USGS mapFinleyville on the 1993 USGS map1953Bridgeville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Finleyville.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Finleyville, PA oil derricks 1903
Retake this viewFinleyville, PA oil derricks 1903, 1903

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Finleyville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Finleyville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Jim BartonAmerican football player · b. 1934
K
Ken BruzenakAmerican comic book letterer · b. 1952
W
Walter SessiAmerican baseball player · b. 1918
Help out

Start Finleyville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewFinleyville, PA oil derricks 1903: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

GastonvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Finleyville’s history

What year was Finleyville founded?

The Finleyville post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1896.

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 Wikimedia Commons (33), the Library of Congress (1), 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 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.