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Barn north of South in HooversvillePhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Hooversville

Hooversville dates to 1836, and 63% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1900.

1836founded
0on the National Register
63%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Hooversville began

When was Hooversville founded?

1836

Hooversville dates its founding to 1836 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 465 in 19002020 census: 628190 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hooversville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Hooversville’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,448 in 1930; 628 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19144 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1994. Watch Hooversville change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hooversville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hooversville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Hooversville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hooversville.

Read it all →

Hooversville was established in 1836. The first settlers to claim land in the Hooversville area were George Lohr (1780), Michael Kocher, and Casper Ripple (warrant 1794), who died in 1828. Jonas Hoover, the founder of Hooversville, came to Quemahoning Township in 1834 and bought land from the heirs of Casper Ripple. In 1836, he had lots surveyed along the present Water and Main Streets. Jonas Hoover was a farmer who ran a gristmill and sawmill on Hoover Street in 1847. He was a justice of the peace from 1852 to 1862. He and David Crissey took part in establishing the German Reformed Church at Hooversville.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Hooversville, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,448

Peaked at 1,448 in 1930; 628 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hooversville’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Hooversville, 1836 to 1930

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836
    FoundingHooversville is established
  3. 1860In the archiveMap of Hooversville, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, from 1860 Somerset County Map by Edwa…
  4. 1875Post officeThe Hooversville post office opens
  5. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Somerset County - Quemahoning - ED…
  6. 20th century
  7. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 1,448
By decade

Hooversville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1880s2 items
Map of Hooversville, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, from 1860 Somerset County Map by Edward L Walker1860Map of Hooversville, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, f…Map1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Somerset County - Quemahoning - ED 56-46, ED 56-4718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …
1890s–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
Today2 recent
Hooversville post office and Country Bargains2015Hooversville post office and Country BargainsBarn north of South in2015Barn north of South in
On the map

Hooversville on the map, 1914 to 1994

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

Hooversville on the 1914 USGS mapHooversville on the 1944 USGS mapHooversville on the 1971 USGS mapHooversville on the 1994 USGS map1914Windber 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 Hooversville.

Every building

Hooversville, building by building, 1911

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.

Hooversville fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Somerset County - Quemahoning - ED 56-46, ED 56-47
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Somerset County - Quemahoning - ED 56-46, ED 56-47, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Hooversville

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

See all →
Ashley MillerAmerican screenwriter and producer · b. 1971
W
Wilma Scott HeideAmerican writer · b. 1921
A
Alexander RatiuRomanian Greek-Catholic priest · b. 1916
F
Frank KostroAmerican baseball player · b. 1937
G
Gerald SnyderAmerican football player · b. 1905
J
John PatrickAmerican football player · b. 1919
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Hooversville’s post office has been open since 1875.

Gone or out of use
Hooversville Post Officepost office

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Quemahoning Township2 historic placesA−Shade Township1 historic placeA+

Questions about Hooversville’s history

What year was Hooversville founded?

In 1836, according to Wikidata. Hooversville’s post office opened in 1875, and the census of 1900 counted 465 people here.

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 (4), 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 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.