More historic than 43% of U.S. towns · #823 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Green Tree was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1962. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Green Tree post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1885.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Green Tree’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Green Tree is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #823 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Green Tree’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 Green Tree’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1885.
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 Green Tree’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Settled in 1793, the area stayed rural until the late 1800s, with paintings of the time showing farmland and a vineyard. The borough, chartered in 1885, is named after "a large sycamore tree along Greentree Road where the stagecoaches would deliver mail," according to The Historical Society of Green Tree. Rook Station on the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway opened in 1904 which heralded an industrialisation of the area and the opening of a railroad yard and roundhouse.
Passages that mention Green Tree, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 64Read the page →
Read the text
Green Tree Borough. — This borough was formed from the western part of Union, July 14, 1885. It is an exclusively agricultural district, with suburban propensities. The Washington road has been macadamized, and other improvements are contemplated. The name was first applied to a hotel, and is still retained in that capacity. It became a postofiice May 10, 1844. There are three churches — Wesley Methodist, Mount Pisgah Presbyterian and German Lutheran. Rev. G. H. Schnorr, pastor of the latter, was the first burgess of the borough. Mount Pisgah was organized in 1830, and reorganized
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.
The Green Tree post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1885.
How does Green Tree rank for history?
Green Tree is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #823 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.
How old are the homes in Green Tree?
7% of Green Tree’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1962.
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 (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
2014
2014
2012
2012
2007
2007
