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B−History
History · McAdoo

McAdoo’s post office opened in 1895, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1900.

1895first post office
0on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How McAdoo began

When was McAdoo founded?

1895

The McAdoo post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1896.

First census: 2,122 in 19002020 census: 2,471131 years

How historic is McAdoo?

B−

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first McAdoo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1896.
History grade

What drives McAdoo’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, McAdoo is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of McAdoo’s overall grade.
Founding era1895, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194046.1% of homes (±7.7) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 55%
NewerOlder

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 McAdoo’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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1896 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 McAdoo’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 McAdoo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1976. Watch McAdoo change.Boom and bustPeaked at 5,239 in 1930; 2,471 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of McAdoo’s homes were built before 1943.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McAdoo’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

McAdoo on the map, 1889 to 1976

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

McAdoo on the 1889 USGS mapMcAdoo on the 1891 USGS mapMcAdoo on the 1947 USGS mapMcAdoo on the 1950 USGS mapMcAdoo on the 1969 USGS mapMcAdoo on the 1976 USGS map1889Hazleton 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 McAdoo.

People over time

McAdoo, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,239

Peaked at 5,239 in 1930; 2,471 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story so far

McAdoo, in brief

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

McAdoo is a borough and coal town in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States, 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Hazleton and seven miles north of Tamaqua. McAdoo contains the picturesque Silver Brook Meadow. In the past, anthracite coal mining and a shirt factory, the McAdoo Manufacturing Company, provided gainful employment to the populace. The population was 2,477 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1895. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,300 to 2,471 (+7%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about McAdoo in 1907

Passages that mention McAdoo, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Bruno's family are all communicants of the Roman Catholic church of the Immaculate Conception at McAdoo. The father has come to be recognized as one of the leaders in the commercial circles of McAdoo and Kelayres, and as an example of industry, enterprise and honesty is certainly worthy of emulatio…
History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania ... including a genealogical and biographical record of many families and persons in the county1907 · page 79Read the page →
Read the text

Bruno's family are all communicants of the Roman Catholic church of the Immaculate Conception at McAdoo. The father has come to be recognized as one of the leaders in the commercial circles of McAdoo and Kelayres, and as an example of industry, enterprise and honesty is certainly worthy of emulation.

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

McAdoo, 1889 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1895Post officeThe McAdoo post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909Born hereMichael Luciano is born here
  6. 1916Born hereJohn Bilock is born here
  7. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 5,239
By decade

McAdoo, decade by decade

Today12 recent
St Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, McAdoo PA 042015St Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, McAdoo PA 04St Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, McAdoo PA 032015St Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, McAdoo PA 03St Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, McAdoo PA 022015St Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, McAdoo PA 02St Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, McAdoo PA 012015St Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, McAdoo PA 01St Cunegundas School, McAdoo PA 022015St Cunegundas School, McAdoo PA 02St Cunegundas School, McAdoo PA 012015St Cunegundas School, McAdoo PA 01S Kennedy Dr2015S Kennedy DrPost Office, McAdoo PA 012015Post Office, McAdoo PA 01N Cleveland St, McAdoo PA 022015N Cleveland St, McAdoo PA 02Fire Co on Blain St2015Fire Co on Blain StE Adams St, McAdoo PA 022015E Adams St, McAdoo PA 02E Adams St, McAdoo PA 012015E Adams St, McAdoo PA 01
Every building

McAdoo, building by building, 1907–1912

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

McAdoo fire insurance map, 1907, sheet 11907Sheet 1 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in McAdoo

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Michael LucianoAmerican film and television editor · b. 1909
J
John BilockChaldean Catholic bishop in the United States. · b. 1916
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Kline TownshipIts storyB+

Questions about McAdoo’s history

What year was McAdoo founded?

The McAdoo post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1896.

How does McAdoo rank for history?

McAdoo is more historic than 55% 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 McAdoo?

46% of McAdoo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1943.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.