History · Nanty-Glo

Nanty-Glo’s post office opened in 1901, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1920.

1901first post office

0on the National Register

39%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Nanty-Glo’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Nanty-Glo began

When was Nanty-Glo founded?

1901

The Nanty-Glo post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 5,028 in 19202020 census: 2,511125 years

How historic is Nanty-Glo?

C⁺

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Nanty-Glo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Nanty-Glo’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nanty-Glo is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C⁺

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Nanty-Glo’s overall grade.

Founding era1901, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsD Homes built before 194038.6% of homes (±6.1) · 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 38%

NewerOlder

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 Nanty-Glo’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 D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Nanty-Glo’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 6,217 in 1940; 2,511 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1981. Watch Nanty-Glo change.Old housesHalf of Nanty-Glo’s homes were built before 1949.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nanty-Glo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Nanty-Glo’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 viewSpringfield mine: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Nanty-Glo, census by census

Peaked at 6,217 in 1940; 2,511 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

On the map

Nanty-Glo on the map, 1904 to 1981

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

1904Johnstown 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 Nanty-Glo.

The story

How Nanty-Glo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Nanty-Glo.

Read it all →

What is now Nanty Glo borough originated in the 1890s and was called "Glenglade." By 1896, the community was a lumber camp. It contained houses built on both sides of the southern branch of Blacklick Creek, which forms the border of Blacklick Township on the north side and Jackson Township on the south side.

ChaptersSchools Nanty Glo's churches, hotels, theaters, industries, media, fire company, and public library Nanty Glo Journal Fire department Nanty Glo Public Library Historical society

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Nanty-Glo, 1901 to 1940

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

20th century
1901Post officeThe Nanty Glo post office opens
1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1937In the archiveSpringfield mine
1940CensusPopulation peaks at 6,217

By decade

Nanty-Glo, decade by decade

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

1930s1 item

1937Springfield mine

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

Today5 recent

2015Nanty glo - panoramio (11)

2015Nanty glo - panoramio (10)

2015Nanty glo - panoramio (1)

2008Nanty glo park

2005Lake heisley oct1505 4

Every building

Nanty-Glo, building by building, 1915

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Nanty-Glo fire insurance map, 1915, sheet 1

1915Sheet 1 of 4

Sheets

+3 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Retake this viewSpringfield mine, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Nanty Glo

1cemetery inside Nanty-Glo

First Finnish Lutheran

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Jackson TownshipIts storyC Blacklick TownshipIts storyB Mundys CornerIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Nanty-Glo’s history

What year was Nanty-Glo founded?

The Nanty-Glo post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Nanty-Glo rank for history?

Nanty-Glo is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. 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 Nanty-Glo?

39% of Nanty-Glo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1949.

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 (6), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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