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History · Laporte

Laporte dates to 1850, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Sullivan County Courthouse. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1934 on, and the census since 1860.

1850founded
1on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Laporte began, and where its name came from

When was Laporte founded?

1850

Laporte dates its founding to 1850 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 208 in 18602020 census: 314176 years

How did Laporte get its name?

Laporte was named for John Laporte.

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1852. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Laporte’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.Boom and bustPeaked at 465 in 1900; 314 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Laporte’s homes were built before 1948.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Laporte’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Laporte, census by census

0100200300400500190019502000Peak: 465

Peaked at 465 in 1900; 314 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

The story

How Laporte came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Laporte.

Read it all →

The Pennsylvania Guide, compiled by the Writers' Program of the Works Progress Administration, described Laporte in 1940 as:a mountain resort founded in 1847 and named for John Laporte, Surveyor General of Pennsylvania, [and] formerly a lumbering and tannery center. Wide verandas front many of the houses. Among the deeds preserved in the courthouse here is one recorded in 1864, which transfers the ownership of a large tract of land on a mountain plateau four miles west of Laporte to 'Almighty God.' The plateau was once the site of the Celestia Community of Adventists, founded in 1853 by Peter Armstrong and his wife. A small group of Adventists, interested in Armstrong's plan for communalism in preparation for the expected coming of the Lord, maintained the experiment for several years. Forced by hardships and the dissatisfactions of other members to abandon it, Armstrong returned to Phi…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Laporte, 1850 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850
    FoundingLaporte is established
  3. 1852Post officeThe Laporte post office opens
  4. 1894BuiltSullivan County Courthouse is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 465
  7. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Laporte, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Map of Sullivan County Pennsylvania HighlightingDate?Map of Sullivan County Pennsylvania HighlightingMap
Today4 recent
Laporte PA with Worlds End State Park in the Background at sunset June 20192019Laporte PA with Worlds End State Park in the Backgrou…Laporte PA & Worlds End State Park Shown in June 20192019Laporte PA & Worlds End State Park Shown in June 2019Pennsylvania State Route 422009Pennsylvania State Route 42Laporte, PA Keystone Marker2009Laporte, PA Keystone Marker
On the map

Laporte on the map, 1934 to 1969

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

Laporte on the 1934 USGS mapLaporte on the 1953 USGS mapLaporte on the 1969 USGS map1934LaPorte 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 Laporte.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Laporte

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
1978
Sullivan County Courthouse
Sullivan County Courthouse, built 1894
Buildings
Sullivan County CourthouseBuilt 1894

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

Questions about Laporte’s history

What year was Laporte founded?

In 1850, according to Wikidata. Laporte’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1860 counted 208 people here.

What is on the National Register in Laporte?

One place: the Sullivan County Courthouse (listed 1978).

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 (5), 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.