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B−History
History · Northern Cambria

Northern Cambria dates to 1893, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #779 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 2000.

1893founded
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Northern Cambria began

When was Northern Cambria founded?

1893

Northern Cambria dates its founding to 1893 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 4,199 in 20002020 census: 3,560133 years

How historic is Northern Cambria?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1892.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Northern Cambria’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Northern Cambria is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #779 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Northern Cambria’s overall grade.
Founding era1893, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194028.3% of homes (±8.8) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 25%

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 Northern Cambria’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1893.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.8 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 Northern Cambria’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Northern Cambria are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19024 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1981. Watch Northern Cambria change.Lost villages4 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Northern Cambria’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Northern Cambria’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Northern Cambria’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Northern Cambria on the map, 1902 to 1981

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

Northern Cambria on the 1902 USGS mapNorthern Cambria on the 1961 USGS mapNorthern Cambria on the 1972 USGS mapNorthern Cambria on the 1981 USGS map1902Barnesboro 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 Northern Cambria.

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Barnesboro
1892–today
Spangler
1892–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BarnesboroNorth BarnesboroSpanglerWest Branch
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Northern Cambria
Holy CrossNorth End ProtestantSaint John the Baptist Roman CatholicSaint John's UkrainianSaint MarysSaint PatricksSaint Stanislaus Kostka

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Northern Cambria came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Northern Cambria.

Read it all →

The area was first settled by Europeans in the early-to-middle 19th century. The presence of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River allowed loggers to move their harvest downstream. Small farms developed, but the area changed in the 1890s when mining of the extensive bituminous coal fields in the area became the dominant industry. The mining companies required skilled workers, and many came from Great Britain and Eastern Europe. Railroads were built to transport the coal out, and the town flourished with the influx of money. In the 1980s, the coal industry began a decline, and there has been a subsequent decline in the population of the area. In November 1922, the Reilly Shaft No. 1 mine explosion occurred, killing 78 coal miners.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Northern Cambria, 1892 to 1902

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Barnesboro post office opens
  3. 1892Post officeThe Spangler post office opens
  4. 1893
    FoundingNorthern Cambria is established
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Northern Cambria, decade by decade

Today10 recent
US 219 nb in Spangler, Northern Cambria, PA (3), Aug. 20242024US 219 nb in Spangler, Northern Cambria, PA (3), Aug.…US 219 nb in Spangler, Northern Cambria, PA (2), Aug. 20242024US 219 nb in Spangler, Northern Cambria, PA (2), Aug.…US 219 nb in Spangler, Northern Cambria, PA (1), Aug. 20242024US 219 nb in Spangler, Northern Cambria, PA (1), Aug.…US 219 nb entering Northern Cambria, PA (2), Aug. 20242024US 219 nb entering Northern Cambria, PA (2), Aug. 2024US 219 nb entering Northern Cambria, PA (1), Aug. 20242024US 219 nb entering Northern Cambria, PA (1), Aug. 2024US 219 nb at PA 271, Aug. 20242024US 219 nb at PA 271, Aug. 2024Park in Spangler, Northern Cambria, PA, Aug. 20242024Park in Spangler, Northern Cambria, PA, Aug. 2024Northern Cambria, PA borough hall, Aug. 20242024Northern Cambria, PA borough hall, Aug. 2024Former church in Spangler, Northern Cambria, PA, Aug. 20242024Former church in Spangler, Northern Cambria, PA, Aug.…2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
People over time

Northern Cambria, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,50020002020Peak: 4,199

Between 3,560 and 4,199 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Susquehanna TownshipIts storyBBarr TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Northern Cambria’s history

What year was Northern Cambria founded?

In 1893, according to Wikidata. Northern Cambria’s post office opened in 1892, and the census of 2000 counted 4,199 people here.

How does Northern Cambria rank for history?

Northern Cambria is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #779 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.

How old are the homes in Northern Cambria?

28% of Northern Cambria’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1952.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.