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History · McVeytown

McVeytown dates to 1762, and 69% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1840.

1762founded
0on the National Register
69%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How McVeytown began

When was McVeytown founded?

1762

McVeytown dates its founding to 1762 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 348 in 18402020 census: 344264 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1808.The full story ↓

What stands out about McVeytown’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.Old housesHalf of McVeytown’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 685 in 1870; 344 people lived here in 2020.Older than the countryEstablished in 1762, 14 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McVeytown’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMcVeytown PA Presby PHS347: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How McVeytown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McVeytown.

Read it all →

The settlement of what is now McVeytown was begun by Samuel Holliday in 1755, but it was only in 1762 that he settled in permanently and not until 1795 that the town of Waynesburg (present day McVeytown) was laid out. John McVey owned the land and was the founder of McVeytown.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

McVeytown, census by census

01002003004005006007001850190019502000Peak: 685

Peaked at 685 in 1870; 344 people lived here in 2020.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

Timeline

McVeytown, 1762 to 1950

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1762
    FoundingMcVeytown is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1808Post officeThe McVeytown post office opens
  5. 1839Born hereJoseph Rothrock is born here
  6. 1870CensusPopulation peaks at 685
  7. 20th century
  8. 1923In the archiveMcVeytown PA Presby PHS347
  9. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

McVeytown, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
McVeytown PA Presby PHS3471923McVeytown PA Presby PHS347
1930s–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
Today10 recent
US 22 wb in McVeytown, PA, May 20242024US 22 wb in McVeytown, PA, May 2024US 22 wb entering McVeytown, PA, May 20242024US 22 wb entering McVeytown, PA, May 2024USPS McVeytown PA 170512016USPS McVeytown PA 17051Sculpture at McVeytown Boro Blg from McVeytown Oliver HS2016Sculpture at McVeytown Boro Blg from McVeytown Oliver…Rothrock plaque McVeystown PA2016Rothrock plaque McVeystown PAMcVeytown PA Presby2016McVeytown PA PresbyMcVeytown PA Borough Hall2016McVeytown PA Borough HallMcVeytown Ambulance and Fire PA2016McVeytown Ambulance and Fire PAThe Springhouse Farm in2015The Springhouse Farm inReflection of the sky on the Juniata River2015Reflection of the sky on the Juniata River
On the map

McVeytown on the map, 1950 to 1961

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

McVeytown on the 1950 USGS mapMcVeytown on the 1961 USGS map1950Harrisburg sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of McVeytown.

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.

McVeytown PA Presby PHS347
Retake this viewMcVeytown PA Presby PHS347, 1923

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Oliver TownshipIts storyC+Bratton TownshipIts storyA−

Questions about McVeytown’s history

What year was McVeytown founded?

In 1762, according to Wikidata. McVeytown’s post office opened in 1808, and the census of 1840 counted 348 people here.

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 (11), 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.