Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mohnton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mohnton is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #451 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Mohnton’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 Mohnton’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 B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.2 points). Two sources give 1846.
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 Mohnton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town centered around several industries such as milling, gun-smithing and hat-making. The first of these to appear was a grist mill built by Mohn the same year he arrived in 1846. Within this mill, Benjamin Mohn's nephew, Samuel K. Mohn opened a general store for citizens of the countryside. With the success of the general store the Mohns decided to concentrate on merchandising and in 1857 build a new three-story store and petitioned to establish a post office nearby. This earliest post office in Mohnton was called Mohn's Store and was established at Mohn's Store in 1857, the post office was renamed Mohnton in 1906, and it remains in operation.
Passages that mention Mohnton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical and biographical annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, embracing a concise history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, comp. by Morton L. Montgomery ..1909 · page 571Read the page →
Read the text
has done much to add to the convenience and pleasure of his fellow citizens. One of his progressive enterprises was to purchase the Body estate at Mohnsville (now Mohnton), held at a high figure, and to erect on that site the upper station at Mohnton, a great accomimodation. Just opposite this he built in the spring of 1906 the Mohnton Auditorium, standing near the trolley tracks. This building, 50x100 feet, is finished
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Historical and biographical annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, embracing a concise history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, comp. by Morton L. Montgomery ..1909 · page 475Read the page →
Read the text
clock which had wooden wheels, and he does a great deal of repairing in the evenings. He is also an able electrician, having learned in company with several of his neighbors in Mohnton, and he has wired a number of buildings, including Zion United Evangelical Church of Mohnton. He can handle a saw and chisel as well as a good carpenter, and he has helped in the erection of a number of houses and factories. His own residence in Mohnton is at the corner
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
Mohnton, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 1846, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mohnton’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1910 counted 1,536 people here.
How does Mohnton rank for history?
Mohnton is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #451 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.
How old are the homes in Mohnton?
32% of Mohnton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (8), 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, 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.
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