Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #840 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1900.
The Glenolden post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1894.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glenolden is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #840 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Glenolden’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Glenolden. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Glenolden.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Glenolden yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Glenolden is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,223 at the 2020 census, up from 7,153 at the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1874. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 7,153 in 2010, 7,223 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Delaware County - Glenolden - ED 2…
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archivePennsylvania Railroad : Locomotive
In the archiveGlenolden PA 1st Presby PHS2353 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Glenolden’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 873 and 8,697 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Glenolden’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Glenolden’s post office has been open since 1874.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Glenolden post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1894.
Glenolden is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #840 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.
21% of Glenolden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1954.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (7), 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.
1910
1918
1918
1918
1925
1925
2017
2015
2007