Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kane’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kane is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #299 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kane’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 Kane’s 11.3 sits above most of its state (78% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
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 (±7.0 points). Two sources give 1863.
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 Kane’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Kane was founded by Brigadier General Thomas L. Kane and his wife Elizabeth Denniston Wood Kane, M.D. Thomas L. Kane was the second son of Judge John Kintzing Kane of Philadelphia, a prominent associate of Presidents Jackson and Polk. Elizabeth Kane and three of their four children became physicians in Kane.
The Kane mansion, also called Anoatok, Kane Armory, Thomas L. Kane Memorial Chapel, and the New Thomson House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Kane mansion, known as the Kane Manor, is now a bed and breakfast inn. Reliquarian House, which exists in the Silverside Estate, was built by General Thomas Kane's son, Elisha, as a 90% replica of the original family home, which burned down not long after Thomas's death.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kane. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1934Kane 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 Kane.
Every building
Kane, building by building, 1892–1915
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 year, then a sheet.
In 1863, according to Wikidata. Kane’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1890 counted 2,944 people here.
How does Kane rank for history?
Kane is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #299 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 Kane?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Kane, Thomas L., Memorial Chapel (listed 1978, the first).
How old are the homes in Kane?
62% of Kane’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 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.
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