North Braddock dates to 1897, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #445 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Charles M. Schwab House. Its Register listing is the Charles M. Schwab House. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives North Braddock’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Braddock is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #445 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Braddock’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 North Braddock’s 2.4 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1897.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points).
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 North Braddock’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peaked at 16,782 in 1930; 4,320 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on North Braddock’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
North Braddock on the map, 1904 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Braddock. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Pittsburgh 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 North Braddock.
In 1742, a Scottish trader named John Fraser from eastern Pennsylvania acquired land at the location of the current Edgar Thomson Steel Works from Queen Aliquippa and the Lenape people. Fraser settled his family on the location, and in 1753 Christopher Gist and George Washington met with Fraser while delivering messages from Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia to French commanders at Fort LeBoeuf, in present-day Waterford. Dinwiddie demanded the French commanders withdraw from western Pennsylvania. Fearing that a conflict was on the horizon, Fraser returned to Philadelphia in 1754.
Passages that mention North Braddock, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 127Read the page →
Read the text
The various religious denominations are nearly all represented. The first Methodist Episcopal society was organized in 1855 by B. F. Sawhill, whose circuit also included Port Perry and Wilkinsburg. The first services were held in a schoolhouse in North Braddock, and in 1859 Sellers chapel, the present place of worship, was erected. Rev. William H. Lauck being pastor at that time. Rev. T. N. Boyle is the present pastor. St. Thomas’ Roman Catholic Church was organized by Rev. Thomas O’Farrel. The cornerstone was laid April 22, 1860; services were first held in the basement October 14, 1860,
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
North Braddock, 1887 to 1983
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1897, according to Wikidata. North Braddock’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1900 counted 6,535 people here.
How does North Braddock rank for history?
North Braddock is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #445 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 North Braddock?
One place: the Charles M. Schwab House (listed 2025).
How old are the homes in North Braddock?
46% of North Braddock’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 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 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 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.
