The story
Read it all →How Paint Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Paint Township.
The Windber Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Paint Township
Paint Township dates to 1900, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #981 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1910.
1900founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Paint Township began
When was Paint Township founded?
1900
Paint Township dates its founding to 1900 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.
First census: 999 in 19102020 census: 3,041126 years
How historic is Paint Township?
C−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Paint Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Paint Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #981 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Paint Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1900, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194017.6% of homes (±8.6) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational 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 24%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 5%
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 Paint Township’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 1900.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 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 Paint Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages6 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Paint Township, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Paint Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,700 in 1940; 906 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19145 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1994. Watch Paint Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hillsboro
Rummel
Seanor
Arrow
Landstreet
Blough
Hagevo
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BloughHageroHillsboroLandstreetRummelSeanor
1cemetery inside Paint Township
Custer Community
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Paint Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paint Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Paint Township, census by census
Peaked at 1,700 in 1940; 906 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Paint Township’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Paint Township, 1879 to 1940
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1879Post officeThe Hillsboro post office opens
- 1884Post officeThe Rummel post office opens
- 1892Post officeThe Seanor post office opens
- 20th century
- 1900FoundingPaint Township is established
- 1905Post officeThe Hillsboro post office closes
- 1914
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1938Post officeThe Rummel post office closes
- 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 1,700
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Paint Township on the map, 1914 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Paint Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1914Windber sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Paint Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Paint Township
Nobody well known was born in Paint Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Conemaugh Township1 historic placeAShade Township1 historic placeA+Richland TownshipIts storyC+Windber1 historic placeAQuemahoning Township2 historic placesA−PaintIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOgle TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBensonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Paint Township’s history
What year was Paint Township founded?
In 1900, according to Wikidata. Paint Township’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1910 counted 999 people here.
How does Paint Township rank for history?
Paint Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #981 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 Paint Township?
18% of Paint Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1960.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, 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.