Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBelow: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1900.
The Irvona post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1890.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Irvona’s history is told.
Peaked at 1,213 in 1930; 549 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Irvona’s Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Irvona. 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 Irvona.
From Wikipedia’s history of Irvona.
The borough of Irvona was named in honor of Edward A. Irvin, a Union Army lieutenant colonel and member of the Pennsylvania Senate. The town was incorporated on September 2, 1890.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Irvona, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Railroads. — With the extension of the Bell's Gap Railroad from Irvona, in Clearfield county, to Punxsutawney, in Jefferson county, by the Clearfield and Jefferson Railroad Company, the first railroad was constructed in Chest township in 1887. It passes through the extreme northern end of the township, and at the village of Newburg, one of the old towns of the township, has sprung up a flourishing town. From the southern boundary, through the whole length of the township, and to the northwestern corner flows Chest Creek, which has its source in Clearfield township, Cambria county. Situated
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
diversified, and wild scenery, is much resorted to by excursionists during the summer months. ; During the year 1886 a second railroad was completed, extending from the Pennsylvania Railroad at Cresson, Cambria county, to Irvona, in Beccaria township, and under the charter name of the Cresson, Clearfield County, and New York Short Route Railroad Company, although commonly known as the Cresson and Coalport Railroad. This road was largely due to the untiring energy of Hon. John Dean, president judge of Cambria county, for its con-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Ratlroads.—With the extension of the Bell’s Gap Railroad from Irvona, in Clearfield county, to Punxsutawney, in Jefferson county, by the Clearfield and Jefferson Railroad Company, the first railroad was constructed in Chest township in 1887. It passes through the extreme northern end of the township, and at the village of Newburg, one of the old towns of the township, has sprung up a flourishing town. From the southern boundary, through the whole length of the township, and to the northwestern corner flows Chest Creek, which has its source in Clearfield township, Cambria county. Situated
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The year 1887 saw the advent of the railroad, in the extension of Bell's Gap Railroad from Irvona, in Clearfield county, to Punxalawney, in Jefferson county, by the Clearfield & Jefferson Railroad Company. A branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad now traverses the western part of the township in an almost northerly and southerly direction.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Clearfield County - ED 17-…
In the archiveIrvona, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
1917Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 Irvona’s page.
Retake this view · +15Nobody well known was born in Irvona itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Irvona post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1890.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
2015