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Jefferson Hills War MemorialPhoto: JeffersonHills · CC BY-SA 3.0
BHistory
History · Jefferson Hills

Jefferson Hills dates to 1784, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #586 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Most of Jefferson Hills was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Its Register listings are the Bridge in Jefferson Borough and the Lobb's Cemetery and Yohogania County Courthouse Site. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1930.

1784founded
2on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Jefferson Hills began

When was Jefferson Hills founded?

1784

Jefferson Hills dates its founding to 1784 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 4,138 in 19302020 census: 12,424242 years

How historic is Jefferson Hills?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Jefferson Hills’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jefferson Hills is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #586 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jefferson Hills’ overall grade.
Founding era1784, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19406.8% of homes (±2.6) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 1.6 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 43%

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 Jefferson Hills’ 1.6 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1784.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Jefferson Hills’ past

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

Lost villages7 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Jefferson Hills, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Jefferson Hills are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19045 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1988. Watch Jefferson Hills change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1784: 242 years of Jefferson Hills.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gill Hall
1848–1907
Moss Side
1848–1854
Coal Valley
1849–1951
Mossbank
1884–1884
Jones Station
1886–1909
Floreffe
1899–1979
Large
1905–1958
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Coal ValleyCochrans MillExperimentFloreffeGill HallPierce
Gone or out of use
Jones StationlocaleReplogle Airportairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jefferson Hills
Jefferson Methodist EpiscopalJefferson United Presbyterian ChurchLobbs RunSaints Peter and Paul

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

Help out

Start Jefferson Hills’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Jefferson Hills on the map, 1904 to 1988

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

Jefferson Hills on the 1904 USGS mapJefferson Hills on the 1953 USGS mapJefferson Hills on the 1960 USGS mapJefferson Hills on the 1979 USGS mapJefferson Hills on the 1988 USGS map1904Pittsburgh 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 Jefferson Hills.

The story

How Jefferson Hills came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jefferson Hills.

Read it all →

This borough's history dates back to January 22, 1828, when it was created as a township from the old Township of Mifflin. At that time, the community was named Jefferson Township in honor of President Thomas Jefferson. In 1845, Snowden Township was formed from a part of Jefferson Township. Population of the township in 1860 was 1,601 persons, in 1870 it was 2,066 persons, and it reached a total population of 3,227 persons in 1880 (about equal to the population of 1930). Jefferson Township became a first-class township in 1914, and in 1950 Jefferson was chartered as a borough. The borough of Pleasant Hills seceded from Jefferson Township in 1947 and by so doing, drastically reduced the population and urbanized area of the township.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Jefferson Hills, 1784 to 1995

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1784
    FoundingJefferson Hills is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1848Post officeThe Gill Hall post office opens
  5. 1848Post officeThe Moss Side post office opens
  6. 1849Post officeThe Coal Valley post office opens
  7. 1854Post officeThe Moss Side post office closes
  8. 1874Born hereJ. A. Pierce is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1907Post officeThe Gill Hall post office closes
  12. 1951Post officeThe Coal Valley post office closes
  13. 1995Born hereChase Winovich is born here
By decade

Jefferson Hills, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Jefferson Regional Medical Center2009Jefferson Regional Medical CenterJefferson Hills Welcome Sign2009Jefferson Hills Welcome SignJefferson Hills War Memorial2009Jefferson Hills War MemorialJefferson Hills Municipal Center2009Jefferson Hills Municipal CenterJefferson Hills (Gill Hall) Trailhead2009Jefferson Hills (Gill Hall) TrailheadBridgeinJeffersonBorough2009BridgeinJeffersonBorough885 Baseball Field2009885 Baseball FieldMap of Allegheny County PA Highlighting JeffersonHills2007Map of Allegheny County PA Highlighting JeffersonHillsMap
On the National Register

2 historic places in Jefferson Hills

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Bridge in Jefferson Borough
Bridge in Jefferson BoroughLobb's Cemetery and Yohogania County Courthouse Site
SitesStructures
Bridge in Jefferson BoroughStructure
Lobb's Cemetery and Yohogania County Courthouse SiteSite

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Jefferson Hills, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001940196019802000202012,424

Grew from 4,138 people in 1930 to 12,424 in 2020, 3 times over.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Jefferson Hills

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Chase WinovichAmerican football player · b. 1995
J
J. A. PierceAmerican football coach · b. 1874
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

ClairtonIts storyC+Pleasant HillsIts storyDSouth Park Township4 historic placesB+West ElizabethIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWest Mifflin1 historic placeBForward TownshipIts storyB−ElizabethIts storyA−Union Township2 historic placesB

Questions about Jefferson Hills’ history

What year was Jefferson Hills founded?

In 1784, according to Wikidata. Jefferson Hills’ post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1930 counted 4,138 people here.

How does Jefferson Hills rank for history?

Jefferson Hills is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #586 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 Jefferson Hills?

Two places: the Bridge in Jefferson Borough (listed 1988) and the Lobb's Cemetery and Yohogania County Courthouse Site (1992).

How old are the homes in Jefferson Hills?

7% of Jefferson Hills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1980.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.