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B−History
History · Pennsburg

Pennsburg’s post office opened in 1851, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #758 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1890.

1851first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pennsburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pennsburg began

When was Pennsburg founded?

1851

The Pennsburg post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1887.

First census: 627 in 18902020 census: 3,889175 years

How historic is Pennsburg?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pennsburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.
History grade

What drives Pennsburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pennsburg is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #758 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 Pennsburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194031.4% of homes (±9.1) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational 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 49%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 27%

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 Pennsburg’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.

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 (±9.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1887 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Pennsburg’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Pennsburg’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pennsburg’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPennsburgh, Montgomery County, Pennsylv…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Pennsburg, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pennsburg yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Pennsburg is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population was 3,889 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Upper Perkiomen School District. It is also part of the strip of small towns that run together along Route 29: Red Hill, Pennsburg, and East Greenville. The towns are collectively referred to as Upper Perk.

Its first post office opened in 1851. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,843 in 2010, 3,889 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Pennsburg in 1923

Passages that mention Pennsburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Pennsburg — This borough is one mile to the east from the borough of East Greenville, a station on the old Perkiomen railroad and the Green Lane and Goshenhoppen turnpike. It is twenty-three miles from Reading Junction and forty-eight from Philadelphia. The history of how it obtained its name is fa…
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania1923 · page 378Read the page →
Read the text

Pennsburg — This borough is one mile to the east from the borough of East Greenville, a station on the old Perkiomen railroad and the Green Lane and Goshenhoppen turnpike. It is twenty-three miles from Reading Junction and forty-eight from Philadelphia. The history of how it obtained its name is far too long and intricate to go into in this connection, but suffice to say that at first it was known as Heiligsville, after a large family living in the community before the platting was made.

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.

Timeline

Pennsburg, 1851 to 1972

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Pennsburg post office opens
  3. 1894In the archivePennsburgh, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1894
  4. 20th century
  5. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1972Post officeThe Pennsburg post office closes
By decade

Pennsburg, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s2 items
Pennsburgh, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 18941894Pennsburgh, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1894Pennsburgh, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 18941894Pennsburgh, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1894
1900s–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
Today9 recent
Red Hill and Pennsburg, PA post office, Aug. 20262026Red Hill and Pennsburg, PA post office, Aug. 2026Pennsburg Montgomery County2017Pennsburg Montgomery CountyTownhouses with porches at Northgate2016Townhouses with porches at NorthgateBacks of townhouses at Northgate2016Backs of townhouses at NorthgatePottstown Ave 101, Pennsburg, MontCo PA2015Pottstown Ave 101, Pennsburg, MontCo PAFarmers National Bank Building, Pennsburg, MontCo PA2015Farmers National Bank Building, Pennsburg, MontCo PAEast Penn Rail Road Locomotive, Pennsburg Montco PA2014East Penn Rail Road Locomotive, Pennsburg Montco PAPennsburg municipal building2012Pennsburg municipal buildingPennsburg Boro Hall II2012Pennsburg Boro Hall II
On the map

Pennsburg on the map, 1943 to 1992

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

Pennsburg on the 1943 USGS mapPennsburg on the 1957 USGS mapPennsburg on the 1968 USGS mapPennsburg on the 1973 USGS mapPennsburg on the 1992 USGS map1943Milford Square 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 Pennsburg.

Every building

Pennsburg, building by building, 1924

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 sheet.

Pennsburg fire insurance map, 1924, sheet 11924Sheet 1 of 7
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.

Pennsburgh, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1894
Retake this viewPennsburgh, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1894, 1894

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Pennsburg, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00019001920194019601980200020203,889

Grew from 627 people in 1890 to 3,889 in 2020, 6 times over.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Pennsburg had its own post office from 1851 to 1972.

Pennsburg
1851–1972
18501940today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pennsburg
Pennsburg United Church of ChristSaint Marks Lutheran Church

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Greenville1 historic placeA−Red Hill1 historic placeA

Questions about Pennsburg’s history

What year was Pennsburg founded?

The Pennsburg post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.

How does Pennsburg rank for history?

Pennsburg is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #758 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 Pennsburg?

31% of Pennsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 (11), 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.