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History · Pringle

Pringle’s post office opened in 1900, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1910.

1900first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Pringle began

When was Pringle founded?

1900

The Pringle post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1914.

First census: 1,875 in 19102020 census: 893126 years
Founding year: the first Pringle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1914.The full story ↓

What stands out about Pringle’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 Pringle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1983. Watch Pringle change.Old housesHalf of Pringle’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,372 in 1930; 893 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pringle’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Pringle on the map, 1893 to 1983

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

Pringle on the 1893 USGS mapPringle on the 1946 USGS mapPringle on the 1969 USGS mapPringle on the 1976 USGS mapPringle on the 1983 USGS map1893Pittston 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 Pringle.

The story

How Pringle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pringle.

Read it all →

Pringle was incorporated as a borough on January 17, 1914; it was named in honor of Thomas Pringle.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Pringle, 1893–1909

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

Pringle — Bordering on the boroughs of Kingston, Edwardsville, Courtdale and Luzerne, and also the township of Kingston, Pringle Borough was at one time a village of Kingston Township. It was incorporated as a borough on January 17, 1914, absorbing the territory which had formerly been Pringle Town…
A history of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania1909 · page 165Read the page →
Read the text

Pringle — Bordering on the boroughs of Kingston, Edwardsville, Courtdale and Luzerne, and also the township of Kingston, Pringle Borough was at one time a village of Kingston Township. It was incorporated as a borough on January 17, 1914, absorbing the territory which had formerly been Pringle Township, the latter having been organized out of part of Kingston Township in the previous decade.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
and feed mill about four miles up the creek in 1850. George Gregory, in 1857, bought Pritchard's mill and rebuilt and enlarged it the next year, with his brother, Benjamin Gregory. In 1869 Jacob Rice built his feed and chopping-mill about one mile from the mouth of the creek. Ransom Pringle became …
History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections1893 · page 584Read the page →
Read the text

and feed mill about four miles up the creek in 1850. George Gregory, in 1857, bought Pritchard's mill and rebuilt and enlarged it the next year, with his brother, Benjamin Gregory. In 1869 Jacob Rice built his feed and chopping-mill about one mile from the mouth of the creek. Ransom Pringle became the leading merchant, and for many years carried on his store near the railroad station. Hiram Croop had his store near Croop's mills, other traders being Darius Whitsell and Alexander Dodson.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
and feed mill about four miles up the creek in 1850. George Gregory, in 1857, bought Pritchard's mill and rebuilt and enlarged it the next year, with his brother, Benjamin Gregory. In 1869 Jacob Rice built his feed and chopping-mill about one mile from the mouth of the creek. Ransom Pringle became …
History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections1893Read the page →
Read the text

and feed mill about four miles up the creek in 1850. George Gregory, in 1857, bought Pritchard's mill and rebuilt and enlarged it the next year, with his brother, Benjamin Gregory. In 1869 Jacob Rice built his feed and chopping-mill about one mile from the mouth of the creek. Ransom Pringle became the leading merchant, and for many years carried on his store near the railroad station. Hiram Croop had his store near Croop's mills, other traders being Darius AVhitsell and Alexander Dodson.

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

Pringle, 1893 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Pringle post office opens
  5. 1912Post officeThe Pringle post office closes
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 2,372
By decade

Pringle, decade by decade

Today4 recent
West Side Career and Technology Center, Pringle, PA side, Sept. 20232023West Side Career and Technology Center, Pringle, PA s…Pringle, PA municipal building (2), Sept. 20232023Pringle, PA municipal building (2), Sept. 2023Pringle, PA municipal building (1), Sept. 20232023Pringle, PA municipal building (1), Sept. 2023Pioneer Volunteer Fire Company building, Pringle, PA, Sept. 20232023Pioneer Volunteer Fire Company building, Pringle, PA,…
People over time

Pringle, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,372

Peaked at 2,372 in 1930; 893 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Pringle had its own post office from 1900 to 1912.

Pringle
1900–1912
19001960today
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pringle
Saint Ignatius Catholic ChurchSaint John's Russian OrthodoxSaint Mary's AnnunciationSaints Cyril and Methodius

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.

CourtdaleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKingston1 historic placeAEdwardsvilleIts storyB−LuzerneIts storyB+

Questions about Pringle’s history

What year was Pringle founded?

The Pringle post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1914.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (4), 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 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.