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C+History
History · Moosic

Moosic’s post office opened in 1858, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns · #824 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1880.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Moosic’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Moosic began

When was Moosic founded?

1858

The Moosic post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1898.

First census: 600 in 18802020 census: 5,959168 years

How historic is Moosic?

C+

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Moosic post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1898.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Moosic’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moosic is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #824 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Moosic’s overall grade.
Founding era1858, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194023.1% of homes (±9.0) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 43%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 20%

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 Moosic’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 C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1898 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Moosic’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1994. Watch Moosic change.Lost villages6 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Moosic’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Moosic’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 viewMoosic, Pennsylvania 1892: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Moosic on the map, 1889 to 1994

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

Moosic on the 1889 USGS mapMoosic on the 1891 USGS mapMoosic on the 1946 USGS mapMoosic on the 1969 USGS mapMoosic on the 1976 USGS mapMoosic on the 1994 USGS map1889Scranton 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 Moosic.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Moosic had its own post office from 1858 to 1917.

Moosic
1858–1917
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Belian VillageGreenwoodHillside JunctionOak HillSpike IslandStarks
Gone or out of use
Moosic Powder WorksbuildingOakhill BreakerbuildingOakhill CollieryminePowder Mill ShaftmineSpring Brook CollierybuildingSpring Brook Collierymine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Moosic
Saint Mary's Roman Catholic ChurchSaints Peter and Paul

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Moosic came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Moosic.

Read it all →

The name "Moosic" probably derives from the Unami language of the Lenape people, meaning "elk place". The Lenape, a Native American people, are the earliest-known inhabitants of Moosic. The borough was incorporated on December 9, 1898. Before incorporation, the villages of Moosic and Greenwood had been a part of Lackawanna Township. From 1886 to 1987, Moosic was the site of Rocky Glen Park, an amusement park. The former grounds are now a Pennsylvania state historical marker.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Moosic in 1928

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

Minooka and was employed in the coal mines until 1898 at which time he went to Pittsburgh and entered the employ of the American Steel Company. Later he returned to Minooka and in 1902 was appointed Justice of the Peace of Moosic Borough by Governor Stone. Later he purchased Hotel Central at Moosic…
Jubilee history commemorative of the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania ..1928 · page 1037Read the page →
Read the text

Minooka and was employed in the coal mines until 1898 at which time he went to Pittsburgh and entered the employ of the American Steel Company. Later he returned to Minooka and in 1902 was appointed Justice of the Peace of Moosic Borough by Governor Stone. Later he purchased Hotel Central at Moosic from the estate of Ex-Mayor Loftus, and he operated the Hotel until 1920. Mr. Jennings has also been interested in the insurance business since 1904. Since 1921 Mr. Jennings has been actively engaged in the conduct of Rocky Glen Park at Moosic, Pa.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
lives at home, is a World War veteran, having served with the Medical Corps at Camp Greenleaf; Michael, lives at Moosic; and Agnes, married Robert Bennie, lives at Moosic: The boyhood of Joel Davis was spent at Moosic and Avoca, where he attended the public schools. He was employed in the mines for…
Jubilee history commemorative of the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania ..1928 · page 1240Read the page →
Read the text

lives at home, is a World War veteran, having served with the Medical Corps at Camp Greenleaf; Michael, lives at Moosic; and Agnes, married Robert Bennie, lives at Moosic: The boyhood of Joel Davis was spent at Moosic and Avoca, where he attended the public schools. He was employed in the mines for several years and in 1915 established his hotel and restaurant business on Main Street, in which venture he is meeting with well deserved success.

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

Moosic, 1858 to 1917

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Moosic post office opens
  3. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1892In the archiveMoosic, Pennsylvania 1892
  5. 20th century
  6. 1915In the archiveRocky Glenn Park station 1915 postcard
  7. 1917Post officeThe Moosic post office closes
By decade

Moosic, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1910s3 items
Moosic, Pennsylvania 18921892Moosic, Pennsylvania 1892Moosic, Pennsylvania 18921892Moosic, Pennsylvania 1892Rocky Glenn Park station 1915 postcardc. 1915Rocky Glenn Park station 1915 postcardPostcard
1920s–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
Today7 recent
Southeastern Greenwood2026Southeastern GreenwoodMoosic, PA Methodist Church, Feb. 20262026Moosic, PA Methodist Church, Feb. 2026Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church Cemetery2024Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church CemeteryRocky Glen Park Sign2021Rocky Glen Park SignMoosic PA Muni Building2015Moosic PA Muni BuildingElectric Trolley PA2013Electric Trolley PAView of Greenwood section of Moosic,PA from Taylor2012View of Greenwood section of Moosic,PA from Taylor
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.

Moosic, Pennsylvania 1892
Retake this viewMoosic, Pennsylvania 1892, 1892

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Moosic, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,068

Between 600 and 6,068 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Moosic

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

See all →
Howard GardnerAmerican developmental psychologist & academic · b. 1943
Jane JacobsAmerican–Canadian journalist, author, and activ… · b. 1916
Lizabeth ScottAmerican actress and singer · b. 1921
Robert ReichAmerican political economist · b. 1946
Mike J. DunleavyGovernor of Alaska since 2018 · b. 1961
Bob CaseyAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1960
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Old ForgeIts storyB−TaylorIts storyB+Scranton35 historic placesA

Questions about Moosic’s history

What year was Moosic founded?

The Moosic post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1898.

How does Moosic rank for history?

Moosic is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #824 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 Moosic?

23% of Moosic’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1969.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikipedia, 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.