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History · Friedens

Friedens’ post office opened in 1871, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1913 on.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Friedens began

When was Friedens founded?

1871

The Friedens post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,504155 years
Founding year: the first Friedens post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Friedens’ 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 Friedens are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19134 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1973. Watch Friedens change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Friedens’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Friedens on the map, 1913 to 1973

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

Friedens on the 1913 USGS mapFriedens on the 1944 USGS mapFriedens on the 1967 USGS mapFriedens on the 1973 USGS map1913Somerset 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 Friedens.

The story so far

Friedens, in brief

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

Friedens is a census-designated place (CDP) that is part of Somerset Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,523 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1871. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,523 in 2010, 1,504 in 2020.

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Friedens

Nobody well known was born in Friedens itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Augustine B. KelleyAmerican politician · b. 1883
F
Frank NicholsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1889
J
John PatrickAmerican football player · b. 1919
J
Joe KrivakAmerican football player and coach · b. 1935
Joe MuhaAmerican football player · b. 1921
M
Mike NaymickAmerican baseball player · b. 1917

Questions about Friedens’ history

What year was Friedens founded?

The Friedens post office opened in 1871, 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 →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.