Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1869.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Monaca’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monaca is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #399 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 Monaca’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 Monaca’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1787.
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 (±6.4 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 Monaca’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Monaca has a history dating to the 18th century. The land on which it stands was granted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by patent, bearing the date September 5, 1787, to Colonel Ephraim Blaine (1741–1804), who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, was commissary-general of the Northern Department from 1778 to 1782, and was James G. Blaine's great-grandfather. In the patent, this tract was called "Appetite". On August 1, 1813, the land was bought by Francis Helvidi (or Helveti, Helvedi, Helvety), described as a Polish nobleman exiled from his native country who immigrated to America. Helvidi, who may have been the first white settler in Monaca, bought the large "Appetite" tract and raised sheep on it, but his venture was unsuccessful. Harmony Society leader George Rapp, one of Helvidi's creditors, complained in 1815 "about the risk Helvidi is taking with the s…
Passages that mention Monaca, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania1914Read the page →
Read the text
was employed in Pittsburgh, for two years of that time in the government service as mail-carrier and for nine years as business manager of the Oriental Glass Company of Pittsburgh. On October i, 1900, he took up his residence in Monaca and was one of the organizers of the American Glass Specialty Company, of Monaca, Pennsylvania, of which he is now secretary and treasurer. This organization is one of the most flourishing in the glass manufacturing trade, Mr. Kleyle's part in its growth and expansion having been one of faithful labor and careful financial administration. His only
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Genealogical and personal history of Beaver County, Pennsylvania1914 · page 832Read the page →
Read the text
one. He then found employment as a clerk in a store, a position he held for two years. In the year 1883, when he was about twenty-three years of age, he began working in the shipping department of the Phoenix Glass Company of Monaca, though for some time he still resided in Bridgewater. He finally moved to the scene of his employment, where he still makes his home at the corner of Indiana avenue and Ninth street. He has now for some years held the position of manager of the shipping department, and is a well-to-do property owner in Monaca, where he possesses a fine
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
Monaca, 1787 to 1960
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 1787, according to Wikidata. Monaca’s post office opened in 1869, and the census of 1840 counted 325 people here.
How does Monaca rank for history?
Monaca is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #399 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 Monaca?
40% of Monaca’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1950.
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 (18), 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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