Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1863.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Renovo’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Renovo 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 Renovo’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 Renovo’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1825.
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 (±8.5 points).
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 Renovo’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Renovo was built for and by the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad as the midpoint between Philadelphia and Erie. The town was laid out on a mostly-flat flood plain along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in North-Central Pennsylvania, and was incorporated in 1866. Many of the buildings of what became the sprawling Railroad Shops complex were built before, during, and after the American Civil War.
Peaked at 5,877 in 1920; 1,061 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Renovo’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Renovo, building by building, 1887–1911
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.
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Renovo in 1892
Passages that mention Renovo, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical and biographical work1892 · page 252Read the page →
Read the text
The public schools of Renovo were established in 1864. At that time there was but one small school house in what js now the town of Renovo, and the schools were held in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
he resigned his position to accept a similar one — local editor and business manager of the Clinton Republican, published at Lock Haven by George D. Bowman. After serving in that position for two years, his attention was drawn to the rapid growth of the new railroad town of Renovo, Pa., where he was induced by several of its prominent citizens to establish a weekly newspaper. On December 21st, 1871, he established the Renovo Record, which has proved a business success. A few years later the newspaper was enlarged and improved, and soon became a power In
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
Renovo, 1825 to 1984
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1825, according to Wikidata. Renovo’s post office opened in 1863, and the census of 1870 counted 1,940 people here.
How does Renovo rank for history?
Renovo 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 Renovo?
63% of Renovo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (5), 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, 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.
1909
1909
1909
1909