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–Not graded
History · Paint

Paint dates to 1900, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1910.

1900founded
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Paint began

When was Paint founded?

1900

Paint dates its founding to 1900 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 999 in 19102020 census: 906126 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Paint’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 Paint 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.Old housesHalf of Paint’s homes were built before 1950.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paint’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paint’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
People over time

Paint, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,700

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’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Paint came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Paint.

Read it all →

The Windber Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Paint, 1900 to 1971

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900
    FoundingPaint is established
  3. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 1,700
  4. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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 album
On the map

Paint on the map, 1971 to 1994

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

Paint on the 1971 USGS mapPaint on the 1981 USGS mapPaint on the 1994 USGS map1971Windber sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Paint.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Paint TownshipIts storyC−Scalp Level1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWindber1 historic placeA

Questions about Paint’s history

What year was Paint founded?

In 1900, according to Wikidata. the census of 1910 counted 999 people here.

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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.