Millvale dates to 1789, and 60% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #147 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listings are the St. Nicholas Croatian Church and the Fortieth Street Bridge. Its Register listings are the St. Nicholas Croatian Church and the Fortieth Street Bridge. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1869.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Millvale’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Millvale is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #147 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Millvale’s overall grade.
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 Millvale’s 6.1 sits above most of its state (70% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1789.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.3 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Millvale’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prior to the European colonization, the Millvale area was the starting point of the Venango Path, a Native American trail which led to Lake Erie. The Seneca people hunted and fished the lands. The European Simon Girty and his father settled in the area. During a major raid by Chief Tewea of the Lenape and Captain François Coulon de Villiers of the French, Girty's stepfather was taken captive, tortured, and killed. Chief Guyasuta adopted Simon and assimilated him into Seneca culture. Due to his difficulty living with Europeans, Simon settled on the Venango Path near a creek which now bears his name.
Peaked at 8,166 in 1930; 3,376 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Millvale’s Wikipedia page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Millvale in 1889
Passages that mention Millvale, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 182Read the page →
Read the text
Millvale Borough. — This place was incorporated by act of assembly February 13, 1868, from a part of Shaler township and that part of the borough of Duquesne not included in the limits of Allegheny City by the act of consolidation of March 12, 1867. The latter was created by act of the legislature from Reserve township, April 5, 1849.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 182Read the page →
Read the text
Millvale Borough. — This place was incorporated by act of assembly February 13, 1868, from a part of Shaler township and that part of the borough of Duquesne not included in the limits of Allegheny City by the act of consolidation of March 12, 1867. The latter was created by act of the legislature from Reserve township, April 5, 1849.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 412Read the page →
Read the text
came to Pittsburgh, where he clerked four years for C. W. Roberts. In 1880 his old employer opened a small grocery-store in Millvale, which James conducted eight months; then bought the store and enlarged it, starting with one clerk, and now employing ten. The business is in a flourishing condition, and is the largest store in Millvale;
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
Millvale, 1789 to 1930
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1789, according to Wikidata. Millvale’s post office opened in 1869, and the census of 1870 counted 668 people here.
How does Millvale rank for history?
Millvale is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #147 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 Millvale?
Two places: the St. Nicholas Croatian Church (listed 1980) and the Fortieth Street Bridge (1988).
How old are the homes in Millvale?
60% of Millvale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
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