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History · Frazer

Frazer’s post office opened in 1830, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Frazer was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1906 on and old-book passages.

1830first post office
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Frazer began

When was Frazer founded?

1830

The Frazer post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 3,635196 years
Founding year: the first Frazer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Frazer’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Frazer are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19067 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1999. Watch Frazer change.Deep rootsA post office since 1830: 196 years of Frazer.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Frazer’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Frazer on the map, 1906 to 1999

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

Frazer on the 1906 USGS mapFrazer on the 1943 USGS mapFrazer on the 1955 USGS mapFrazer on the 1968 USGS mapFrazer on the 1973 USGS mapFrazer on the 1983 USGS mapFrazer on the 1999 USGS map1906Phoenixville 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 Frazer.

Timeline

Frazer, 1884 to 1906

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Born hereJack Lapp is born here
  3. 1885Born hereJoseph S. Davis is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Frazer, in brief

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

Frazer is a census-designated place (CDP) in East Whiteland Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along US 30 between Exton and Malvern, and is the northern terminus for Pennsylvania Route 352. The former main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, currently owned and operated by Amtrak and also used by SEPTA, passes through Frazer. While no station is located there, SEPTA Frazer Yard is a maintenance facility for the Paoli/Thorndale Line regional rail service. In 2019, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission conducted a feasibility study for a new SEPTA station in Frazer and recommended a location near Immaculata University.

Its first post office opened in 1830.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Frazer in 1881

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

Frazer was nominally allowed to go at large in the city on parole ; but the terms of the parole were so rudely violated by the British officers that on March 17, 1778 (St. Patrick's day, while the Irish sentinels were drunk), he made his escape and rejoined the army, gallantly performing his duty i…
History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches1881 · page 553Read the page →
Read the text

Frazer was nominally allowed to go at large in the city on parole ; but the terms of the parole were so rudely violated by the British officers that on March 17, 1778 (St. Patrick's day, while the Irish sentinels were drunk), he made his escape and rejoined the army, gallantly performing his duty in the battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
professional visits, and was on his way home, between the hours of four and five o'clock in the afternoon, and whilst attempting to cross the Pennsylvania Railroad at Frazer, within sight of his home, the fast passenger-train bound west struck his carriage, killing him almost instantly. His death t…
History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches1881 · page 671Read the page →
Read the text

professional visits, and was on his way home, between the hours of four and five o'clock in the afternoon, and whilst attempting to cross the Pennsylvania Railroad at Frazer, within sight of his home, the fast passenger-train bound west struck his carriage, killing him almost instantly. His death threw a great gloom over the whole community and the medical gentlemen of the county.

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

Frazer, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Frazer Flock Camera Phoenixville Pike Home Depot2026Frazer Flock Camera Phoenixville Pike Home DepotBattle of the Clouds, 2014 state historical marker2023Battle of the Clouds, 2014 state historical markerFrazerDiner112010FrazerDiner11
On the National Register

1 historic place in Frazer

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Frazer

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

See all →
Jack LappMajor League Baseball catcher · b. 1884
J
Joseph S. DavisAmerican economist · b. 1885

Questions about Frazer’s history

What year was Frazer founded?

The Frazer post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.