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Friedensburg, Pennsylvania (8482296556)Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded
History · Friedensburg

Friedensburg’s post office opened in 1843

Most of Friedensburg was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1889 on.

1843first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Friedensburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Friedensburg began

When was Friedensburg founded?

1843

The Friedensburg post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,041183 years
Founding year: the first Friedensburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Friedensburg’s past

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

On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1999. Watch Friedensburg change.Deep rootsA post office since 1843: 183 years of Friedensburg.
★ What stands out · On the map

Friedensburg on the map, 1889 to 1999

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

Friedensburg on the 1889 USGS mapFriedensburg on the 1891 USGS mapFriedensburg on the 1945 USGS mapFriedensburg on the 1968 USGS mapFriedensburg on the 1976 USGS mapFriedensburg on the 1999 USGS map1889Pottsville 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 Friedensburg.

The story so far

Friedensburg, in brief

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

Friedensburg is a Village and census-designated place (CDP) in Wayne Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,041 at the time of the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1843. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 858 to 1,041 (+21%).

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

By decade

Friedensburg, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
DETAIL VIEW OF FOREBAY CONSTRUCTION. NOTE CANTILEVER BEAMS. - Barn (1787), State Route 73 (Oley Township), Friedensburg…1933DETAIL VIEW OF FOREBAY CONSTRUCTION. NOTE CANTILEVER …GENERAL VIEW SHOWING FARMHOUSE, BARN AND ASSORTED SHEDS. NOTE THREE SQUARE CUPOLAS ON BARN - Farm Group, State Route 73…1933GENERAL VIEW SHOWING FARMHOUSE, BARN AND ASSORTED SHE…GENERAL VIEW. FRONT PAINTED RED. DATE STONE READS THOMAS AND ELISABETH LEINBACH 1851 - Leinbach Barn (1851), State Rout…1933GENERAL VIEW. FRONT PAINTED RED. DATE STONE READS THO…GENERAL VIEW. LARGER BARN BUILT 1839. - Barn (1787), State Route 73 (Oley Township)1933GENERAL VIEW. LARGER BARN BUILT 1839. - Barn (1787), …GENERAL VIEW. OVERHANG PAINTED WHITE. SIDE ELEVATION HAS DIAMOND-SHAPED BRICK VENT. - Cricket Slope Farm, Barn, Frieden…1933GENERAL VIEW. OVERHANG PAINTED WHITE. SIDE ELEVATION …REAR AND SIDE ELEVATIONS - Leinbach Barn (1851), State Route 73 vicinity1933REAR AND SIDE ELEVATIONS - Leinbach Barn (1851), Stat…
1940s–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
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.

DETAIL VIEW OF FOREBAY CONSTRUCTION. NOTE CANTILEVER BEAMS. - Barn (1787), State Route 73 (Oley Township), Friedensburg…
Retake this viewDETAIL VIEW OF FOREBAY CONSTRUCTION. NOTE CANTILEVER BEAMS. - Barn (1787), State Route 73 (Oley Township), Friedensburg…, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Friedensburg

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

See all →
Gary S. BeckerAmerican economist · b. 1930
John O'HaraAmerican journalist and writer · b. 1905
M
Matt WachterAmerican musician · b. 1976
R
Ralph PetersAmerican military officer, writer, pundit · b. 1952
Ronald William GainerCatholic bishop · b. 1947
Elisha HoffmanAmerican minister, hymn composer · b. 1839
Help out

Finish Friedensburg’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDETAIL VIEW OF FOREBAY CONSTRUCTION. NO…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Friedensburg’s history

What year was Friedensburg founded?

The Friedensburg post office opened in 1843, 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 (6) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.