New Castle dates to 1802, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #59 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1,728 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1840.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1812.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Castle’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Castle is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #59 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Castle’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 New Castle’s 803 sits above most of its state (96% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1,732 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1802.
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 New Castle’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1798, John Carlysle Stewart, a civil engineer, traveled to western Pennsylvania to resurvey the "donation lands", which had been reserved for veterans of the Revolutionary War. He discovered that the original survey had neglected to stake out approximately 50 acres (20 ha) at the confluence of the Shenango River and Neshannock Creek, at that time a part of Allegheny County. The Indian town of Kuskusky was listed on early maps in this location. Claiming the land for himself, he laid out in April 1798 what was to become the town of New Castle. It comprised approximately that same 50 acres (20 ha), in what was then part of Allegheny County.
Passages that mention New Castle, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Atlas of the County of Lawrence and the State of Pennsylvania, bound with History of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania1872 · page 35Read the page →
Read the text
Forney, was published in the Philadelphia Press, of June 5th, 1858 : “New Castle, the county seat of Lawrence county, is situated at the junction of the Shenango and Neshannock rivers, three miles above the junction of the Shenango and Mahoning rivers, constituting the Big Beaver, which makes its confluence with the Ohio river, at Beaver, twenty-eight miles below Pittsburgh. The Erie Canal, from the Ohio river, at Beaver, to the city of Erie, passes up the valley of the Big Beaver and Shenango rivers, through the town of New Castle, and the Cross-cut Canal, from New
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Atlas of the County of Lawrence and the State of Pennsylvania, bound with History of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania1872 · page 167Read the page →
Read the text
result has fully demonstrated), both resources and population, as well as facilities for trade and manufacture, sufficient not only to justify, but imperatively to demand such a measure. This fact Mr. Sankey plainly foresaw; and to his earnest efforts in this direction, the citizens of New Castle, as also those of the entire county, are largely indebted for that measure of prosperity which, in the past twenty-five years, they have been permitted to enjoy. At that time, the jine separating Mercer and Beaver counties passed through the town of New Castle, and the erection of Lawrence county, with
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
New Castle, 1802 to 1965
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Castle. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Neshannock 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 New Castle.
Every building
New Castle, building by building, 1888–1899
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 year, then a sheet.
In 1802, according to Wikidata. New Castle’s post office opened in 1812, and the census of 1840 counted 611 people here.
How does New Castle rank for history?
New Castle is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #59 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.
What is on the National Register in New Castle?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Lawrence County Courthouse (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the North Hill Historic District, with 1,728 contributing buildings. 1,732 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in New Castle?
45% of New Castle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1944.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
1905
1905
