Most of Laflin was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Laflin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Laflin’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Laflin is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Laflin’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 Laflin’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Laflin’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Laflin was incorporated as a borough in 1889. It was likely named for one of the owners of the Laflin & Rand Powder Company. The following year, in 1890, the population of the newly formed borough was just over two hundred. Coal mining led to a population boom in the region.
Laflin witnessed its greatest increase between 1970 and 1980, when the number of residents grew by over 313% (or from 399 people to 1,650 people).
Passages that mention Laflin, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania1909 · page 122Read the page →
Read the text
Settlement began in this part of Pittston Township in 1794, Joseph Gardner building his gristmill, on the creek that bears his name, in that year. Isaac Gould settled about the same time, his home being near where the Laflin powder mills were later placed. Other early settlers were : Daniel Seeley, who built the first sawmill ; Jesse Thomas ; the Thompson family, who lived just below Sebastopol; John Stout, the first blacksmith. The last named settled in 1824, and his shop was on the hill near Yatesville. The first brick house in the township was erected by George Price, in 1846. on the Wilkes-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections1893 · page 589Read the page →
Read the text
In 1866, says Stewart Pearce, "the oldest living inhabitants are Peter Waiters, seventy-four and Letitia Cotant, seventy-one. " Isaac Gould, it is said, came about the same time as Joseph Gardner and were the first permanent settlers. They located near where the Laflin powder mills are. Daniel Seeley built the first sawmill (portable) on Gardner's creek. Jesse Thomas had a sawmill above the powder mills. James, John, Isaac and Joseph Thompson located in the hollow just below Sebastopol in the old road from AVilkes-Barre to Inkerman. John Stout had the first blacksmith shop on the hill near Yatesville.
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
Laflin, 1889 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Laflin post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Laflin rank for history?
Laflin is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. 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 Laflin?
7% of Laflin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1975.
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), 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.
2023
2023
2023
2016
2007
