Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1870.
Osceola Mills dates its founding to 1857 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Osceola Mills is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Osceola Mills’ 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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Osceola Mills’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Osceola Mills yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Osceola Mills is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,045 at the 2020 census.
Osceola Mills was established in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,141 to 1,045 (-8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Peaked at 2,512 in 1920; 1,045 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Osceola Mills’ Wikipedia page.
Passages that mention Osceola Mills, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Mr. Philips offered inducements to his own countrymen, and to the Protestant Irish, to settle on his lands, and as early as 1797, a settlement was made at a place now called Stumptown, a mile northeast of Osceola Mills. This settlement was known at that time as the “Goss” settlement, and derived its name from Abram Goss, who settled there at the time mentioned, and proceeded to clear out a farm from the surrounding forest.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Clearfield county. Pa. He remained in Boggs township until 1870, when he moved to Wallaceton, and from there, in 1871, to Houtzdale, and to Osceola Mills in 1873. He had previously been engaged in both lumbering and merchandising and after settling at Osceola Mills, established a general store which he conducted until 1909, when he retired. He
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Osceola Mills. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Osceola Mills.
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.
1892Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1857, according to Wikidata. Osceola Mills’ post office opened in 1862, and the census of 1870 counted 813 people here.
Osceola Mills is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. 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.
57% of Osceola Mills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
2024
2024
2024
2024
2009
