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Harmonsburg Plum StreetPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Harmonsburg

Harmonsburg’s post office opened in 1825, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1906 on.

1825first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Harmonsburg began

When was Harmonsburg founded?

1825

The Harmonsburg post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 309201 years
Founding year: the first Harmonsburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Harmonsburg’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 Harmonsburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19063 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1970. Watch Harmonsburg change.Deep rootsA post office since 1825: 201 years of Harmonsburg.Old housesHalf of Harmonsburg’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harmonsburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Harmonsburg’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

Harmonsburg on the map, 1906 to 1970

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

Harmonsburg on the 1906 USGS mapHarmonsburg on the 1959 USGS mapHarmonsburg on the 1970 USGS map1906Linesville 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 Harmonsburg.

The story

How Harmonsburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Harmonsburg.

Read it all →

Harmonsburg was laid out in 1816 by Henry Bright, a German Dunkard who laid out the village on land he had purchased in 1802. For many years, the village was known as "Brightstown". Bright was a blacksmith and farmer, and he lived in the village until his death in 1838. The first house was built by Joseph McMurtry and served as a tavern.

The village never grew to be very large, at most 160 or so inhabitants in the village proper. An early log grist and sawmill were located about a half a mile south of the village. A short distance east was a cheese factory.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Harmonsburg, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Harmonsburg Plum Street2015Harmonsburg Plum Street
Every building

Harmonsburg, building by building, 1922

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Harmonsburg fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 11922Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

Famous people close to Harmonsburg

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

See all →
Sharon StoneAmerican actress · b. 1958
Maxwell AndersonAmerican playwright and writer · b. 1888
Charles Homer HaskinsAmerican historian · b. 1870
Frank E. WoodsAmerican screenwriter · b. 1860
Andrew Ryan McGillAmerican politician · b. 1840
Frederic C. HoweAmerican social reformer, author, lawyer · b. 1867

Questions about Harmonsburg’s history

What year was Harmonsburg founded?

The Harmonsburg post office opened in 1825, 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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.