Plum dates to 1788, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #417 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Plum was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Oakmont Country Club Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 30 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1844.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Plum’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plum is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #417 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Plum’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 Plum’s 11.2 sits above most of its state (78% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 30 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1788.
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 Plum’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Plum Township was founded on December 18, 1788, as one of the original seven townships of Allegheny County. It originally extended as far south as Versailles (modern-day North Versailles Township), east to the county line, west to Pitt Township, and north to the Allegheny River. Plum has shrunk greatly over the years in area, but still remains among the larger municipalities in Allegheny County.
Passages that mention Plum, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 135Read the page →
Read the text
Verona Borough. — Verona was incorporated May 10, 1871, by act of assembly, from Penn and Plum townships. It borders on the Allegheny river a distance of two and one-half miles, extending inland a mile in the precinct north of Plum creek. The streets are wide and regular. There is no large part of the population below the railroad; that part of the town has been overflowed by river freshets several times within the last score of years, and is consequently regarded with a degree of disfavor. The avenue above the railroad is lined with beautiful residences, while the ascending slope in the rear presents
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 135Read the page →
Read the text
Verona Sorottg/?,.— Verona was incorporated May 10, 1871, by act of assembly, from Penn and Plum townships. It borders on the Allegheny river a distance of two and one-half miles, extending inland a mile in the precinct north of Plum creek. The streets are wide and regular. There is no large part of the population below the railroad; that part of the town has been overflowed by river freshets several times within the last score of years, and is consequently regarded with a degree of disfavor. The avenue above the railroad is lined with beautifiil residences, while the ascending slope in the rear presents
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 129Read the page →
Read the text
In 1870 William Coleman, the Messrs. Carnegie and others purchased large tracts of coal-lands in Plum township, and by consolidating their interests with those of other individual owners formed the New York & Cleveland Gas Coal company, one of the largest mining corporations in Western Pennsylvania. Its lands embrace several thousand acres, extending from the Pennsylvania to the Allegheny Valley railroad, with shipping facilities upon both, the Plum Creek branch of the latter extending a distance of seven miles from Verona inland.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 129Read the page →
Read the text
In 1870 William Coleman, the Messrs. Carnegie and others purchased large tracts of coal -lands in Plum township, and by consolidating their interests with those of other individual owners formed the New York & Cleveland Gas Coal company, one of the largest mining corporations in Western Pennsylvania. Its lands embrace several thousand acres, extending from the Pennsylvania to the Allegheny Valley railroad, with shipping facilities upon both, the Plum Creek branch of the latter extending a distance of seven miles from Verona inland.
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
Plum, 1788 to 1987
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1788, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Plum’s post office opened in 1844, and the census of 1960 counted 10,241 people here.
How does Plum rank for history?
Plum is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #417 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 Plum?
Two places: the Oakmont Country Club Historic District (listed 1984) and the Logans Ferry Powder Works Historic District (1998).
How old are the homes in Plum?
7% of Plum’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 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.
★ Landmark
2022
2009
2007
