Founding year: the first Hazleton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hazleton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hazleton is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #191 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hazleton’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 Hazleton’s 2.7 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1857.
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 Hazleton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
During the early years of European colonization in the Americas, the area which today makes up the city of Hazleton sat at the intersection of two Native American trails.
The Nanticoke path was used by the Nanticoke people during their migration to and settlement of the Wyoming Valley, east of Wilkes-Barre.
The Nescopeck path ran from the forks of the Delaware River, to the Nescopeck Creek. It was used by traders and missionaries, Delaware war parties, and settlers.
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 year, then a sheet.
Agudas IsraelBeth IsraelHoly Trinity German Roman CatholicHoly Trinity Roman Catholic SlovakMost Precious BloodOur Lady of Mount Carmel Roman CatholicSaint Gabriel Roman CatholicSaint John the Baptist Polish National Catholic ChurchSaint John's Byzantine CatholicSaint Joseph Slovak Roman CatholicSaint Mary's Byzantine Rite CatholicSaint Michaels Ukrainian Catholic ChurchSaint Stanislaus Roman CatholicSaints Peter and Paul LithuanianSaints Peter and Paul Slovak LutheranSerb - MontenegrinVine Street
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Finish Hazleton’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The Hazleton post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1857.
How does Hazleton rank for history?
Hazleton is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #191 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.
What is on the National Register in Hazleton?
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Israel Platt Pardee Mansion (listed 1984, the first). 8 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hazleton?
32% of Hazleton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1952.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (12), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
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