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–Not graded
History · Nicholson

Nicholson’s post office opened in 1811, and 74% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Tunkhannock Viaduct. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.

1811first post office
1on the National Register
74%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Nicholson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Nicholson began

When was Nicholson founded?

1811

The Nicholson post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1875.

First census: 586 in 18802020 census: 696215 years
Founding year: the first Nicholson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1875.The full story ↓

What stands out about Nicholson’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Nicholson’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 945 in 1980; 696 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1911, drew every building in Nicholson.Deep rootsA post office since 1811: 215 years of Nicholson.
★ What stands out · The story

How Nicholson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Nicholson.

Read it all →

The borough of Nicholson was incorporated on August 23, 1875 and was named after John Nicholson, who had been Pennsylvania's comptroller general in the late 1700s.

The town of Nicholson attracted national attention during the final week of July 1986, when an escaped Bengal tiger was hunted in the area for several days. Despite air and ground searches by state police and zoo officials, the animal was never found.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Nicholson, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 945

Peaked at 945 in 1980; 696 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Nicholson, building by building, 1885–1911

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.

Nicholson fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

Timeline

Nicholson, 1811 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1811Post officeThe Nicholson post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1915BuiltTunkhannock Viaduct is built
  5. 1915In the archiveNicholson Viaduct
  6. 1923In the archiveNicholson PA Presby PHS423
  7. 1941Born hereDon Sherwood is born here
  8. 1943Born hereJim Saxton is born here
  9. 1946On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 945
By decade

Nicholson, decade by decade

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

1910s–1920s6 items
Nicholson Viaduct1915Nicholson ViaductThe viaduct, D. L. & W. at Nicholson, Pa1919The viaduct, D. L. & W. at Nicholson, PaThe Lackawanna viaduct1919The Lackawanna viaductNicholson PA Presby PHS4231923Nicholson PA Presby PHS423Tunkhannock Viaduct and Lackawanna Trail. Nicholson, Pa1923Tunkhannock Viaduct and Lackawanna Trail. Nicholson, …Tunkhannock Viaduct and Lackawanna Trail. Nicholson, Pa1923Tunkhannock Viaduct and Lackawanna Trail. Nicholson, …
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

Nicholson on the map in 1946

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Nicholson.

Nicholson on the 1946 USGS map1946Tunkhannock 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 Nicholson.

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.

Nicholson Viaduct
Retake this viewNicholson Viaduct, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Nicholson

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Tunkhannock Viaduct
Tunkhannock Viaduct, built 1915
Structures
Tunkhannock ViaductBuilt 1915

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Nicholson

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jim SaxtonUnited States Congressman from New Jersey · b. 1943
Don SherwoodAmerican politician · b. 1941
Help out

Finish Nicholson’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNicholson Viaduct: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Nicholson’s history

What year was Nicholson founded?

The Nicholson post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1875.

What is on the National Register in Nicholson?

One place: the Tunkhannock Viaduct (listed 1977).

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 (1), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 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.