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History · Port Royal

Port Royal’s post office opened in 1832, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1880.

1832first post office
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Port Royal began

When was Port Royal founded?

1832

The Port Royal post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Tuscarora Valley (1812), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 621 in 18802020 census: 807194 years
Founding year: the first Port Royal post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Port Royal’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 Royal are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Port Royal’s homes were built before 1945.Deep rootsA post office since 1832: 194 years of Port Royal.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Port Royal’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Port Royal’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
The story

How Port Royal came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Port Royal.

Read it all →

Port Royal used to be named Perrysville, after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. At the time, the Port Royal post office was located in Saint Tammany town, just across the Tuscarora Creek. However, the Pennsylvania Railroad brought increased traffic through the area and prompted a move of the Port Royal post office into Perrysville in 1847. In 1874, the borough took on the name itself and Saint Tammany became known as Old Port.

Throughout the history of Port Royal, the general population was almost centered around agriculture. The rural counties within Port Royal include Turbett, Spruce Hill and Milford Townships, otherwise known as the Tuscarora Valley.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Port Royal, 1812 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1812Post officeThe Tuscarora Valley post office opens
  3. 1832Post officeThe Port Royal post office opens
  4. 1849Post officeThe Tuscarora Valley post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Port Royal, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Gita Nagari2021Gita NagariMain from Seventh in2015Main from Seventh inWm and 765 561x4RP2013Wm and 765 561x4RP
On the map

Port Royal on the map, 1934 to 1969

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

Port Royal on the 1934 USGS mapPort Royal on the 1959 USGS mapPort Royal on the 1969 USGS map1934Mifflintown 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 Royal.

People over time

Port Royal, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 977

Between 519 and 977 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Port Royal’s post office has been open since 1832. Another post office, Tuscarora Valley, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Tuscarora Valley
1812–1849
Port Royal
1832–today
18101920today

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.

Turbett TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMilford Township1 historic placeB+

Questions about Port Royal’s history

What year was Port Royal founded?

The Port Royal post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, 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.