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History · Mocanaqua

Mocanaqua’s post office opened in 1898, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and old-book passages.

1898first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mocanaqua’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mocanaqua began

When was Mocanaqua founded?

1898

The Mocanaqua post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 515128 years
Founding year: the first Mocanaqua post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Mocanaqua’s past

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

On the map since 18945 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1977. Watch Mocanaqua change.Old housesHalf of Mocanaqua’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · On the map

Mocanaqua on the map, 1894 to 1977

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

Mocanaqua on the 1894 USGS mapMocanaqua on the 1946 USGS mapMocanaqua on the 1954 USGS mapMocanaqua on the 1969 USGS mapMocanaqua on the 1977 USGS map1894Shickshinny 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 Mocanaqua.

The story so far

Mocanaqua, in brief

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

Mocanaqua is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Conyngham Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 646 at the 2010 census.

Its first post office opened in 1898. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 646 to 515 (-20%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Mocanaqua in 1909

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

Shickshinny has had three bridges across the Susquehanna to Mocanaqua. In 1859 the first toll bridge, followed by a second toll bridge and the present beautiful concrete free bridge, the product of State and county.
A history of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania1909 · page 166Read the page →
Read the text

Shickshinny has had three bridges across the Susquehanna to Mocanaqua. In 1859 the first toll bridge, followed by a second toll bridge and the present beautiful concrete free bridge, the product of State and county.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Pennsylvania. At the end of this time, Mr. Whitesell came to Shickshinny, where he entered business as a contractor and builder, operating under his own name at Shickshinny and at Mocanaqua. During this period he built the First National Bank Building, in Shickshinny, the bank building at Mocanaqua…
A history of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania1909 · page 372Read the page →
Read the text

Pennsylvania. At the end of this time, Mr. Whitesell came to Shickshinny, where he entered business as a contractor and builder, operating under his own name at Shickshinny and at Mocanaqua. During this period he built the First National Bank Building, in Shickshinny, the bank building at Mocanaqua, as well as others of importance in both places. Finally, in 1924, Mr.

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.

By decade

Mocanaqua, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R. 0239) and Main Street1933Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R…Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R. 0239) and Main Street1933Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R…Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R. 0239) and Main Street1933Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R…Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R. 0239) and Main Street1933Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R…Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R. 0239) and Main Street1933Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R…Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R. 0239) and Main Street1933Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R…
1940s–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
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.

Mocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R. 0239) and Main Street
Retake this viewMocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond Hill Road (S.R. 0239) and Main Street, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Mocanaqua

Nobody well known was born in Mocanaqua itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Nick AdamsAmerican actor and screenwriter · b. 1931
William H. WoodinAmerican politician · b. 1868
Paul KanjorskiAmerican politician · b. 1937
R
Richard Sharpe ShaverAmerican writer and conspiracy theorist · b. 1907
Russ CanzlerAmerican baseball player · b. 1986
B
Billy PetroleAmerican boxer · b. 1905
Help out

Finish Mocanaqua’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMocanaqua School, Intersection of Pond …: 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.

Conyngham TownshipIts storyC+Salem TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Mocanaqua’s history

What year was Mocanaqua founded?

The Mocanaqua post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.