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History · New Florence

New Florence’s post office opened in 1851, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1870.

1851first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
From New Florence’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How New Florence began

When was New Florence founded?

1851

The New Florence post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1865.

First census: 333 in 18702020 census: 671175 years
Founding year: the first New Florence post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1865.The full story ↓

What stands out about New Florence’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Florence’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
People over time

New Florence, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 958

Peaked at 958 in 1960; 671 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story

How New Florence came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of New Florence.

Read it all →

In 2015 Lloyd Reed, a St. Clair Township police sergeant, was shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call on Ligonier Street in the northern section of the borough. The shooter, Ray Shetler Jr., was acquitted of murder charges at trial in 2018, after arguing that he did not realize Reed was a police officer when he fired.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

New Florence, 1851 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe New Florence post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1915In the archiveNew florence pennsylvania common history
  5. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1923In the archiveNew Florence PA Presby PHS408
  7. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 958
By decade

New Florence, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–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
On the map

New Florence on the map, 1920 to 1993

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

New Florence on the 1920 USGS mapNew Florence on the 1944 USGS mapNew Florence on the 1964 USGS mapNew Florence on the 1973 USGS mapNew Florence on the 1981 USGS mapNew Florence on the 1993 USGS map1920New Florence 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 Florence.

Every building

New Florence, building by building, 1908–1915

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 year, then a sheet.

New Florence fire insurance map, 1908, sheet 11908Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
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.

New florence pennsylvania common history
Retake this viewNew florence pennsylvania common history, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to New Florence

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

See all →

Questions about New Florence’s history

What year was New Florence founded?

The New Florence post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1865.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.