Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1990.
Laurel Mountain dates its founding to 1926 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1990.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Laurel Mountain’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Laurel Mountain. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Laurel Mountain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Laurel Mountain.
On July 28, 1769, Richard and Thomas Penn obtained the land where the community of Laurel Mountain would ultimately be located. Purchased from members of the Iroquois Confederacy as part of a larger acquisition encompassing a major portion of what is, today, southwestern Pennsylvania, the price was ten thousand dollars.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Between 146 and 195 people in every census since 1990.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Laurel Mountain’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Laurel Mountain itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1926, according to Wikidata. the census of 1990 counted 195 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2011