The first written records tell of the coming, by horseback and on foot, of white settlers to the vicinity about 1800. A large proportion of these were young married couples from eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the north of Ireland. Something not generally known is that slavery once existed in Beaver County. In 1800 there were four slaves; in 1810 there were eight; in 1820 there were, five and in 1830 none: all having been liberated by law. In 1808 the state conveyed to Joseph Chapman a tract of land consisting of 386 acres. The plot was known as Chapman's Hall and was so named in the deed. Chapman later sold his land to James Nicholson, who came and brought from the south three colored slaves, Pompey Frazier, Tamer Frazier and Betty Mathers. Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson by deed dated May 6, 1819, conveyed to these three servants, who had so faithfully served them, the farm on which they r…
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Galilee. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902New Castle 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 Galilee.
From the old history books
What they wrote about New Galilee in 1888
Passages that mention New Galilee, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania1888 · page 588Read the page →
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half miles west of the present town of Homewood. A short time afterward a frame church was built about a mile still farther west, in which the congregation worshiped till the spring of 1868, when it entered its new house built the previous year in the town of New Galilee. The cost of the new building when completed and furnished was about $8,000, and compares favorably with modern church buildings. They gave the name Rocky Spring to the church. Its first pastor was Rev. Moses Keer. He, after a short pastorate, was removed by death. Their next pastor was Rev. T. L. Speer. who remained with them till 1843, giving half of his time to them and the other half to the
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 Galilee, 1856 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 (3), 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 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.
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