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Pike St, Port Carbon PA 02Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0
A−History
History · Port Carbon

Port Carbon dates to 1806, and 67% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1830.

1806founded
0on the National Register
67%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Port Carbon began

When was Port Carbon founded?

1806

Port Carbon dates its founding to 1806 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 900 in 18302020 census: 1,806220 years

How historic is Port Carbon?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1830.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Port Carbon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Port Carbon is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Port Carbon’s overall grade.
Founding era1806, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194067.1% of homes (±8.8) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National 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 78%
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 Port Carbon’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 B− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.8 points). Two sources give 1806.

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 Port Carbon’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 Port Carbon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18896 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1994. Watch Port Carbon change.Old housesHalf of Port Carbon’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 3,279 in 1940; 1,806 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Port Carbon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Port Carbon’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
On the map

Port Carbon on the map, 1889 to 1994

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

Port Carbon on the 1889 USGS mapPort Carbon on the 1891 USGS mapPort Carbon on the 1944 USGS mapPort Carbon on the 1968 USGS mapPort Carbon on the 1976 USGS mapPort Carbon on the 1994 USGS map1889Pottsville 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 Port Carbon.

The story

How Port Carbon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Port Carbon.

Read it all →

Port Carbon was founded by Abraham Pott, a son of John Pott who founded Pottsville in 1806.

Port Carbon was the site of the first lock on the Schuylkill Canal, on its route for transport of coal mined in the region to Philadelphia. Robert Allison, a local industrialist, purchased the first commercially manufactured automobile, a Winton.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Port Carbon, 1806 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1806
    FoundingPort Carbon is established
  3. 1830Post officeThe Port Carbon post office opens
  4. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 3,279
  7. 1950Born hereNancy J. Lescavage is born here
By decade

Port Carbon, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Pike St, Port Carbon PA 042015Pike St, Port Carbon PA 04Pike St, Port Carbon PA 022015Pike St, Port Carbon PA 02Mill Creek in Port Carbon, Schuylkill Co PA 022015Mill Creek in Port Carbon, Schuylkill Co PA 02Mill Creek in Port Carbon, Schuylkill Co PA 012015Mill Creek in Port Carbon, Schuylkill Co PA 01Methodist Episcopal Church, Port Carbon PA 042015Methodist Episcopal Church, Port Carbon PA 04Methodist Episcopal Church, Port Carbon PA 032015Methodist Episcopal Church, Port Carbon PA 03Methodist Episcopal Church, Port Carbon PA 022015Methodist Episcopal Church, Port Carbon PA 02Methodist Episcopal Church, Port Carbon PA 012015Methodist Episcopal Church, Port Carbon PA 01Joseph Cappella Memorial Home2015Joseph Cappella Memorial HomeGrace United Methodist Church2015Grace United Methodist ChurchGoodwill Fire Co No 12015Goodwill Fire Co No 11st St, Port Carbon, Schuylkill Co PA 0120151st St, Port Carbon, Schuylkill Co PA 01
People over time

Port Carbon, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001850190019502000Peak: 3,279

Peaked at 3,279 in 1940; 1,806 people lived here in 2020.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Palo AltoIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMechanicsvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast Norwegian TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Port Carbon’s history

What year was Port Carbon founded?

In 1806, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Port Carbon’s post office opened in 1830, and the census of 1830 counted 900 people here.

How does Port Carbon rank for history?

Port Carbon is more historic than 78% 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.

How old are the homes in Port Carbon?

67% of Port Carbon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.

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 (12), 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) 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.