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History · Moshannon

Moshannon’s post office opened in 1881, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1929 on.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
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Photo: {{{1}}} · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Moshannon began

When was Moshannon founded?

1881

The Moshannon post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 213145 years
Founding year: the first Moshannon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Moshannon’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Moshannon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Moshannon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Moshannon’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Moshannon, in brief

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

Moshannon is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Snow Shoe Township, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 281 residents. It is located 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Interstate 80 at the convergence of Pennsylvania Routes 53 and 144. Black Moshannon Creek, part of the West Branch Susquehanna River watershed, runs through a 200-foot-deep (60 m) valley half a mile (0.8 km) south of the town. The community takes its name from Moshannon Creek, a Native American name purported to mean "moose stream".

Its first post office opened in 1881. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 281 to 213 (-24%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Moshannon on the map, 1929 to 1981

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

Moshannon on the 1929 USGS mapMoshannon on the 1932 USGS mapMoshannon on the 1959 USGS mapMoshannon on the 1971 USGS mapMoshannon on the 1981 USGS map1929Karthaus 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 Moshannon.

Questions about Moshannon’s history

What year was Moshannon founded?

The Moshannon post office opened in 1881, 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 →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.