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History · Karns City

Karns City’s post office opened in 1874, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1880.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Karns City began

When was Karns City founded?

1874

The Karns City post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 701 in 18802020 census: 175152 years
Founding year: the first Karns City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Karns City’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Karns City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Karns City’s homes were built before 1942.
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Start Karns City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Karns City’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Karns City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Karns City.

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In December 1871, Hugh P. McClymonds and Samuel L. Riddle leased fifteen acres of land to two brothers from the Cooper family. Initially slated to be used as farmland, those plans changed when a reserve of oil was discovered on the land. The first oil well, known as "Shasta," was established shortly thereafter near the western line of McClymonds' two hundred and fourteen-acre farm.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Karns City, 1883–1927

Passages that mention Karns City, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Relieving that a permanent town would be built, the owners of the McClymonds farm, in February, 1874, made a plat of their land, and on January 4, 1875, the borough was incorporated, the boundaries embracing all of the McClymonds farm and about ten acres of the Riddle farm. Karns City being the ter…
History of Butler County, Pennsylvania.1895 · page 552Read the page →
Read the text

Relieving that a permanent town would be built, the owners of the McClymonds farm, in February, 1874, made a plat of their land, and on January 4, 1875, the borough was incorporated, the boundaries embracing all of the McClymonds farm and about ten acres of the Riddle farm. Karns City being the terminus of the Parker and Karns City railroad, it became the depot of supplies for points at the "front." On the arrival of trains passengers were greeted with boisterous invitations to be transported by all kinds of vehicles to Barnhart's Mills, Greece City, Angelica, Troutman and Modoc. On June 13, 1874, the

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Karns City Item was the first newspaper issued at Karns City. It may have been the same as that at Greece City, with the title changed to suit Karns City or vice versa. (t was a small sheet, yet it held the field for almost a year.
History of Butler County, Pennsylvania.1895Read the page →
Read the text

The Karns City Item was the first newspaper issued at Karns City. It may have been the same as that at Greece City, with the title changed to suit Karns City or vice versa. (t was a small sheet, yet it held the field for almost a year.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
by one oi the heavie.st storms ever known in this region. About 11 o'clock A. 31.. so nmch rain had fallen that Bear Creek was converted into a ru.-hing river, and, soon after, in the vicinity of Karns City. fences, small buildings and all other object in the way were swejjt away and carried down s…
History of Butler County, Pennsylvania. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1883 · page 377Read the page →
Read the text

by one oi the heavie.st storms ever known in this region. About 11 o'clock A. 31.. so nmch rain had fallen that Bear Creek was converted into a ru.-hing river, and, soon after, in the vicinity of Karns City. fences, small buildings and all other object in the way were swejjt away and carried down stream. The railroad bridge above Petrolia stayed the onward rush of the debris for a time, but suddenly giving way

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Karns City “Item” was the first newspaper published in Karns City. It was a small sheet and held the field for a year. “The Telephone” was established in Karns City in 1878 by J. D.
History of Butler County Pennsylvania1927 · page 575Read the page →
Read the text

The Karns City “Item” was the first newspaper published in Karns City. It was a small sheet and held the field for a year. “The Telephone” was established in Karns City in 1878 by J. D.

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.

By decade

Karns City, decade by decade

Today2 recent
UMC in Karns City2015UMC in Karns CityKarns City refinery overview2015Karns City refinery overview
On the map

Karns City on the map, 1964 to 1993

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

Karns City on the 1964 USGS mapKarns City on the 1972 USGS mapKarns City on the 1993 USGS map1964Chicora sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Karns City.

People over time

Karns City, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 701

Between 175 and 701 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Karns City’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Karns City’s history

What year was Karns City founded?

The Karns City post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), 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 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.