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History · Kilbuck Township

Kilbuck Township dates to 1869, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Reed Hall. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1970.

1869founded
1on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kilbuck Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kilbuck Township began

When was Kilbuck Township founded?

1869

Kilbuck Township dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 1,694 in 19702020 census: 773157 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1861.The full story ↓

What stands out about Kilbuck Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Kilbuck Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19065 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1993. Watch Kilbuck Township change.Old housesHalf of Kilbuck Township’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kilbuck Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kilbuck Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Dixmont
1861–1954
Kilbuck
1877–1880
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dixmont
1cemetery inside Kilbuck Township
Dixmont State Hospital

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

On the map

Kilbuck Township on the map, 1906 to 1993

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

Kilbuck Township on the 1906 USGS mapKilbuck Township on the 1953 USGS mapKilbuck Township on the 1960 USGS mapKilbuck Township on the 1979 USGS mapKilbuck Township on the 1993 USGS map1906Sewickley 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 Kilbuck Township.

The story

How Kilbuck Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kilbuck Township.

Read it all →

The township was established in 1869 and officially named after the well known John Killbuck Jr., the prominent 18th-century Lenape (Delaware), alias Chief Gelelemund. Because both the Chief and the historical settlement spelling were tied directly to the name "Killbuck," the extra "l" was frequently used in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Forgetting the heritage of the name, the municipality started using the single-"l" version, Kilbuck Township, though the original spelling is still seen in contemporary and historical texts.

The Court of Quarter Sessions separated the Borough of Emsworth from old Killbuck Township on July 14, 1896, by amalgamating the villages of Clifton and Emsworth.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kilbuck Township, 1850 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Allegheny County - ED 2-25…
  3. 1861Post officeThe Dixmont post office opens
  4. 1862BuiltReed Hall is built
  5. 1869
    FoundingKilbuck Township is established
  6. 1877Post officeThe Kilbuck post office opens
  7. 1880Post officeThe Kilbuck post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1954Post officeThe Dixmont post office closes
By decade

Kilbuck Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Allegheny County - ED 2-257, ED 2-258, ED 2-259, ED 2-26…18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Penns…
Today2 recent
Walnut Road in Kilbuck Township2015Walnut Road in Kilbuck TownshipMap of Allegheny County PA Highlighting2007Map of Allegheny County PA HighlightingMap
Then & 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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Allegheny County - ED 2-257, ED 2-258, ED 2-259, ED 2-26…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Allegheny County - ED 2-257, ED 2-258, ED 2-259, ED 2-26…, 1850

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kilbuck Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Kilbuck Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Reed Hall
Reed Hall, built 1862
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque1
Reed HallRomanesque · Built 1862

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

People over time

Kilbuck Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800198020002020Peak: 1,694

Between 697 and 1,694 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Kilbuck Township

Nobody well known was born in Kilbuck Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John KasichAmerican politician and former television host · b. 1952
Billy MaysEuropean-American salesperson · b. 1958
Cameron JohnsonAmerican basketball player · b. 1996
Bill HinzmanAmerican actor · b. 1936
K
Katharine WayAmerican physicist · b. 1902
Christa HarmottoVolleyball player · b. 1986
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

EmsworthIts storyB+Ben AvonIts storyBBen Avon HeightsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOhio TownshipIts storyCAvalon1 historic placeANeville Township1 historic placeB+Aleppo TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Kilbuck Township’s history

What year was Kilbuck Township founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kilbuck Township’s post office opened in 1861, and the census of 1970 counted 1,694 people here.

What is on the National Register in Kilbuck Township?

One place: the Reed Hall (listed 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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.