Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jessup’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jessup is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #461 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Jessup’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 Jessup’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1849.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.3 points).
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 Jessup’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Settled in 1849, the town of Jessup was named after Judge William Jessup. It was presented to the Luzerne County Court for incorporation as the Borough of Winton in December 1876. Two years later, Lackawanna County was incorporated. The early 1890s were very significant for the little town, as numerous new mining operations were opened. Shortly after these were opened, immigrants from Europe were lured to the area by the work available in the booming anthracite coal fields.
Passages that mention Jessup, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Jubilee history commemorative of the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania ..1928Read the page →
Read the text
M. F. Lawler received his early schooling at Jessup and is a graduate of the Lackawanna Business College, Scranton. When 21 years of age he was appointed postmaster of Jessup, during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. He filled that office continuously for a period of nine years, and since January, 1926, has served as mayor.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Jubilee history commemorative of the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania ..1928Read the page →
Read the text
early age and lived in Scranton until he was 18 years of age. He attended the public schools and is a graduate of Scranton Business College. He was employed in his father’s grocery business for several years, after which he served as teller of the First National Bank of Jessup, Pa. He then conducted a general mercantile business at Jessup until his enlistment for service in the World War. He served in France with Company E, 103rd Engineers, 28 Division, and was discharged May 16, 1919. Mr.
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.
Timeline
Jessup, 1849 to 1958
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1849, according to Wikidata. Jessup’s post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1880 counted 905 people here.
How does Jessup rank for history?
Jessup is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #461 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.
How old are the homes in Jessup?
31% of Jessup’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), 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 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.
2026
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2024
2019