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B+History
History · McKees Rocks

McKees Rocks’ post office opened in 1879, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #460 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Its Register listing is the McKees Rocks Bridge. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1890.

1879first post office
1on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
17famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From McKees Rocks’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How McKees Rocks began

When was McKees Rocks founded?

1879

The McKees Rocks post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1892.

First census: 1,687 in 18902020 census: 5,920147 years

How historic is McKees Rocks?

B+

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first McKees Rocks post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1892.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives McKees Rocks’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, McKees Rocks is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #460 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of McKees Rocks’ overall grade.
Founding era1879, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194044.5% of homes (±8.1) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 1.7 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 71%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 56%

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 McKees Rocks’ 1.7 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1892 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 McKees Rocks’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 18,116 in 1930; 5,920 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19046 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1993. Watch McKees Rocks change.Old housesHalf of McKees Rocks’ homes were built before 1949.Famous sons and daughtersJohn Kasich, Billy Mays and 15 more were born here.
★ What stands out · People over time

McKees Rocks, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 18,116

Peaked at 18,116 in 1930; 5,920 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

On the map

McKees Rocks on the map, 1904 to 1993

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

McKees Rocks on the 1904 USGS mapMcKees Rocks on the 1948 USGS mapMcKees Rocks on the 1951 USGS mapMcKees Rocks on the 1960 USGS mapMcKees Rocks on the 1979 USGS mapMcKees Rocks on the 1993 USGS map1904Carnegie 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 McKees Rocks.

The story

How McKees Rocks came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McKees Rocks.

Read it all →

For thousands of years, Native Americans inhabited the region. The Adena culture built a large earthwork mound here, which was a burial site. It was augmented in later years by members of the Hopewell culture. This was the largest such mound in the state. The Carnegie Museum of Natural History excavated half the mound in 1896. Its archaeologists traced the construction history and unearthed the remains of 33 people. The mound crowned a high bluff that overlooks Chartiers Creek and the Ohio River. The bluff under the mound was quarried for municipal paving some time after the archaeological dig, eliminating what remained of the Indian burial site. This site was considered by George Washington as a possible location for Fort Pitt, which he eventually ordered built on the site of the destroyed French Fort Duquesne in what is now Pittsburgh's Point State Park.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

McKees Rocks, 1879 to 1998

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe McKees Rocks post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901In the archiveMcKee's Rocks, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 1901
  5. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1915In the archiveReading the News at McKees Rocks Station
  7. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 18,116
  8. 1952Born hereJohn Kasich is born here
  9. 1958Born hereBilly Mays is born here
  10. 1960Born hereJeff Smith is born here
  11. 1980In the archiveEntrance sign for the Twin Hi-Way drive-in theater
  12. 1998Born hereDamar Hamlin is born here
By decade

McKees Rocks, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s4 items
McKee's Rocks, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 19011901McKee's Rocks, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 1901McKee's Rocks, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 19011901McKee's Rocks, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 19011904-08 Chartiers Trust Company Building, McKees Rocks, by Rutan & Russell19041904-08 Chartiers Trust Company Building, McKees Rock…Reading the News at McKees Rocks Station1915Reading the News at McKees Rocks Station
1920s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s3 items
Entrance sign for the Twin Hi-Way drive-in theater1980Entrance sign for the Twin Hi-Way drive-in theaterTwin Hi-Way Drive-In1980Twin Hi-Way Drive-InEntrance sign for the Twin Hi-Way drive-in theater1980Entrance sign for the Twin Hi-Way drive-in theater
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today23 recent
Building on Island Avenue at John Street, McKees Rocks, 2023-11-06, 022023Building on Island Avenue at John Street, McKees Rock…Building on Island Avenue at John Street, McKees Rocks, 2023-11-06, 012023Building on Island Avenue at John Street, McKees Rock…Aerial view of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, with a focus on the McKees Rocks Bridge over the Ohio River in the i…2019Aerial view of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, wi…Aerial view of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, with a focus on the McKees Rocks Bridge over the Ohio River in the i…2019Aerial view of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, wi…Aerial view of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, with a focus on the McKees Rocks Bridge over the Ohio River in the i…2019Aerial view of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, wi…Aerial view of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, with a focus on the McKees Rocks Bridge over the Ohio River in the i…2019Aerial view of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, wi…Alexander McKee Log Mansion2016Alexander McKee Log MansionSt. Mary’s Church, McKees Rocks, Xavier Personal Care Home, 2015-08-27, 012015St. Mary’s Church, McKees Rocks, Xavier Personal Care…St. Mary’s Church, McKees Rocks, Rectory, 2015-08-27, 022015St. Mary’s Church, McKees Rocks, Rectory, 2015-08-27,…St. Mary’s Church, McKees Rocks, Rectory, 2015-08-27, 012015St. Mary’s Church, McKees Rocks, Rectory, 2015-08-27,…McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania2013McKees Rocks, PennsylvaniaPittsburghandLakeErieRailroadLocomotiveShops2010PittsburghandLakeErieRailroadLocomotiveShopsTheRocksofMckeesRocksPA2009TheRocksofMckeesRocksPAMckeesRocksMoundSignPA2009MckeesRocksMoundSignPAMcKeesRocksPA2009McKeesRocksPAMancinisBakery2009MancinisBakeryMap of Allegheny County PA Highlighting McKeesRocks2007Map of Allegheny County PA Highlighting McKeesRocksMapPERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE Erection Shop FROM THE northeast. The Power House can be seen in shadow on the left, and the Bo…2005PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE Erection Shop FROM THE northe…PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF Erection Shop FROM THE southeast. - Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Locomotive Repair Shops, Riv…2005PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF Erection Shop FROM THE southeast.…Erection Shop, west elevation (left) and Boiler and Tank Shop, east and north elevations (right). - Pittsburgh and Lake…2005Erection Shop, west elevation (left) and Boiler and T…Diesel Shop, south and east elevations. - Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Locomotive Repair Shops, River Road at Cha…2005Diesel Shop, south and east elevations. - Pittsburgh …Diesel Shop, north elevation. - Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Locomotive Repair Shops, River Road at Chartiers Ave…2005Diesel Shop, north elevation. - Pittsburgh and Lake E…Boiler and Tank Shop, north elevation. The Pittsburgh, Chartiers and Youghiogheny Railway (PCandY) bridge is at far rig…2005Boiler and Tank Shop, north elevation. The Pittsburgh…
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

McKee's Rocks, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 1901
Retake this viewMcKee's Rocks, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 1901, 1901

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on McKees Rocks’ page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in McKees Rocks

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
1988
McKees Rocks Bridge
McKees Rocks Bridge
Structures
McKees Rocks BridgeStructure

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

Famous people

17 famous people were born in McKees Rocks

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

See all →
John KasichAmerican politician and former television host · b. 1952
Billy MaysEuropean-American salesperson · b. 1958
J
Jeff SmithAmerican cartoonist · b. 1960
Damar HamlinAmerican football player · b. 1998
M
Myron BrownAmerican basketball player · b. 1969
John J. Pinder Jr.U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1912
Help out

Finish McKees Rocks’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMcKee's Rocks, Allegheny County, Pennsy…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Pittsburgh189 historic placesA+Stowe TownshipIts storyB−Kennedy TownshipIts storyD

Questions about McKees Rocks’ history

What year was McKees Rocks founded?

The McKees Rocks post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1892.

How does McKees Rocks rank for history?

McKees Rocks is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #460 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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.

What is on the National Register in McKees Rocks?

One place: the McKees Rocks Bridge (listed 1988).

How old are the homes in McKees Rocks?

45% of McKees Rocks’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1949.

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 (25), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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) 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.