Forty Fort’s post office opened in 1848, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #164 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Denison House and the Forty Fort Meetinghouse. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Forty Fort post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Forty Fort’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forty Fort is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #164 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Forty Fort’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 Forty Fort’s 4.7 sits above most of its state (66% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1887.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Forty Fort’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1770, forty settlers from Westmoreland County, Connecticut, established a fort along the Susquehanna River in the area now known as Forty Fort Borough. Before the American Revolutionary War, both Connecticut and Pennsylvania claimed this territory, as Connecticut laid claim to a wide swath of land to its west based on its colonial charter. These competing claims triggered the Pennamite–Yankee Wars but were resolved after the Revolutionary War when the federal government awarded the contested territory to Pennsylvania.
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.
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.
The Forty Fort post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.
How does Forty Fort rank for history?
Forty Fort is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #164 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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.
What is on the National Register in Forty Fort?
Two places: the Denison House (listed 1970) and the Forty Fort Meetinghouse (1988).
How old are the homes in Forty Fort?
47% of Forty Fort’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1942.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1850
1859
1880
2013
2013
2013
2011