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History · La Plume Township

La Plume Township’s post office opened in 1876, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1946 on.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How La Plume Township began

When was La Plume Township founded?

1876

The La Plume Township post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 476150 years
Founding year: the first La Plume Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about La Plume 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 writtenNo old photos of La Plume Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start La Plume Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how La Plume Township’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 so far

La Plume Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of La Plume Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

La Plume is an unincorporated community in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 6 and Pennsylvania Route 438, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east-southeast of Factoryville. La Plume has a post office with ZIP code 18440. La Plume is located 11 miles northwest of Scranton, one of Pennsylvania's most populous cities.

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 602 to 476 (-21%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

La Plume Township on the map, 1946 to 1994

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

La Plume Township on the 1946 USGS mapLa Plume Township on the 1969 USGS mapLa Plume Township on the 1994 USGS map1946Factoryville 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 La Plume Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to La Plume Township

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

See all →
Christy MathewsonAmerican Major League baseball player, manager · b. 1880
T
Timmy MayerAmerican racing driver · b. 1938
Warren StevensAmerican actor · b. 1919
B
Bill SienkiewiczAmerican artist · b. 1958
Jim SaxtonUnited States Congressman from New Jersey · b. 1943
Don SherwoodAmerican politician · b. 1941
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
La Plume
Gone or out of use
Hillover/Sekol Airportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside La Plume Township
BethelDreischer FamilySeamans Family

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.

Benton TownshipIts storyBDaltonIts storyB−West Abington TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorth Abington TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about La Plume Township’s history

What year was La Plume Township founded?

The La Plume Township post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.