The story
Read it all →How Jermyn came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Jermyn.
The borough originally named Gibsonburg, was named for John Jermyn, a businessperson in the mining industry.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Jermyn
Jermyn dates to 1870, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1889 on.
1870founded
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Quick answers
How Jermyn began
When was Jermyn founded?
1870
Jermyn dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1870.
2020 census: 2,150156 years
How historic is Jermyn?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1870.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jermyn’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jermyn is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jermyn’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194030.3% of homes (±6.6) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
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 Jermyn’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 points). Two sources give 1870.
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 Jermyn’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Jermyn’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jermyn’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Jermyn, 1870 to 1907
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1870FoundingJermyn is established
- 1870Post officeThe Gibsonburgh post office opens
- 1874Post officeThe Gibsonburgh post office closes
- 1874Post officeThe Jermyn post office opens
- 1889
In the archiveJermyn, Lackawanna County, Pa - 20th century
- 1907
Born hereMichael J. Eagen is born here
By decade
Jermyn, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1880s1 item
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
2024
2020
2019
2011
2011Then & 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.
Retake this viewJermyn, Lackawanna County, Pa, 1889
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Jermyn’s page.
Retake this view · +15Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Jermyn’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Gibsonburgh, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gibsonburgh
Jermyn
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East Jermyn
1cemetery inside Jermyn
Jermyn
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.
Questions about Jermyn’s history
What year was Jermyn founded?
In 1870, according to Wikidata. Jermyn’s post office opened in 1870.
How does Jermyn rank for history?
Jermyn is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Jermyn?
30% of Jermyn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1952.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.