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A+History
History · Patton

Patton dates to 1844, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 97% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 42 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1900.

1844founded
1on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Patton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Patton began

When was Patton founded?

1844

Patton dates its founding to 1844 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 2,651 in 19002020 census: 1,728182 years

How historic is Patton?

A+

More historic than 97% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1891.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Patton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Patton is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Patton’s overall grade.
Founding era1844, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194046.4% of homes (±5.2) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 42 historic buildings, 232 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 97%
NewerOlder

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 Patton’s 232 sits above most of its state (91% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 42 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1844.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 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 Patton’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Patton Historic District takes in 42 historic buildings.On the map since 19025 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1994. Watch Patton change.Boom and bustPeaked at 3,907 in 1910; 1,728 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Patton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPatton PA Presby PHS446: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 42 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
42
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Patton Historic District
Patton Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Foursquare1
Colonial Revival1
Romanesque Revival1
Queen Anne1
Patton Historic DistrictFoursquare

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

On the map

Patton on the map, 1902 to 1994

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

Patton on the 1902 USGS mapPatton on the 1961 USGS mapPatton on the 1972 USGS mapPatton on the 1981 USGS mapPatton on the 1994 USGS map1902Patton 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 Patton.

The story

How Patton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Patton.

Read it all →

Patton's economy was formerly centered around the Patton Clay Manufacturing Company. The factory was one of the largest clay and brick concerns in the world in the first half of the 1900s. The company manufactured terra cotta products (pipe and tiles), building bricks, and pavers (known as "Patton Pavers") from 1893 until it closed in 1968. Bricks made there were used in the construction of the Panama Canal, and the pavers were used around the Eiffel Tower in France. The products were made from clay excavated from the area.

Due to the closure of the Clay Works, Patton's economy and population declined.

The Patton Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Patton, 1844 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1844
    FoundingPatton is established
  3. 1891Post officeThe Patton post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 3,907
  7. 1923In the archivePatton PA Presby PHS446
By decade

Patton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Patton PA Presby PHS4461923Patton PA Presby PHS446
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today6 recent
PA 36 sb in Patton Borough (2), Aug. 20242024PA 36 sb in Patton Borough (2), Aug. 2024PA 36 sb in Patton Borough (1), Aug. 20242024PA 36 sb in Patton Borough (1), Aug. 2024PA 36 sb entering Patton Borough, Aug. 20242024PA 36 sb entering Patton Borough, Aug. 2024PA 36 sb Patton Borough welcome sign, Aug. 20242024PA 36 sb Patton Borough welcome sign, Aug. 2024Patton St. Mary's RCC2015Patton St. Mary's RCC2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
Every building

Patton, building by building, 1895–1923

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.

Patton fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Patton PA Presby PHS446
Retake this viewPatton PA Presby PHS446, 1923

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Patton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Patton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,907

Peaked at 3,907 in 1910; 1,728 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Carroll TownshipIts storyBClearfield TownshipIts storyC+Chest TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElder TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Patton’s history

What year was Patton founded?

In 1844, according to Wikidata. Patton’s post office opened in 1891, and the census of 1900 counted 2,651 people here.

How does Patton rank for history?

Patton is more historic than 97% 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.

What is on the National Register in Patton?

One place: the Patton Historic District (listed 1996).

How old are the homes in Patton?

46% of Patton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1942.

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 (7), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.