Philipsburg dates to 1795, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #154 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Union Church and Burial Ground and the Rowland Theater. Below: 22 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1813.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Philipsburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Philipsburg is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #154 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Philipsburg’s overall grade.
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 Philipsburg’s 7.3 sits above most of its state (72% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
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 (±9.5 points). Two sources give 1795.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Philipsburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
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.
The first inhabitants of the Philipsburg area came towards the end of the last glacial period. They lived a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle for thousands of years. The Seneca people were among the native inhabitants who began establishing settlements, farms, and trails throughout the surrounding valleys and water gaps. The Moshannon Creek, which flows along Philipsburg and makes up the border between Centre and Clearfield County, derives its name from the Seneca word Mos’hanna’unk, meaning "elk river place".
Passages that mention Philipsburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Illustrated souvenir history of Philipsburg, Pennsylvania ..1909 · page 35Read the page →
Read the text
The construction at Hawk Run of an immense saw mill, two miles from Philipsburg, for the manufacture of the 80,000,000 feet of timber now being taken from the Forcey lands and other properties adjacent, is nearly completed, and there will be employed a large number of men from whom the business men of Philipsburg must reap much benefit.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Illustrated souvenir history of Philipsburg, Pennsylvania ..1909 · page 32Read the page →
Read the text
Philipsburg From 1904 to 1909 By C. U. Hoffer. I HE realization of the fact that the Electric Railway, so long and so anxiously awaited, was in actual operation, had a most exhilarating and encouraging effect upon the people of Phil-
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
Philipsburg, 1795 to 1950
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1795, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Philipsburg’s post office opened in 1813, and the census of 1870 counted 1,086 people here.
How does Philipsburg rank for history?
Philipsburg is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #154 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.
What is on the National Register in Philipsburg?
Two places: the Union Church and Burial Ground (listed 1978) and the Rowland Theater (1979).
How old are the homes in Philipsburg?
45% of Philipsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1944.
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 (24), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, 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.
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