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History · Rockwood

Rockwood dates to 1857, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Penrose Wolf Building. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1880.

1857founded
1on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Rockwood’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Rockwood began

When was Rockwood founded?

1857

Rockwood dates its founding to 1857 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 331 in 18802020 census: 843169 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rockwood’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Old housesHalf of Rockwood’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,375 in 1940; 843 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19216 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1981. Watch Rockwood change.
★ What stands out · The story

How Rockwood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rockwood.

Read it all →

Rockwood was initially known as Shaff's Bridge and then Mineral Point. Philip Wolfersberger built a house in what is now Rockwood in 1856, and he laid out the town in 1857 with Martin Meyers serving as the primary surveyor. John Poister built a hotel in 1860. 1868 saw the development of a post office, Henry Werner built a tannery in 1869, and a railroad depot was built in 1871. J.D. Miller and E.D. Miller opened a mercantile, Miller & Bro., and in 1874 they expanded the business to take in Samuel A. Haines as a partner, forming Miller Bros. & Haines.

ChaptersSomerset & Mineral Point Railroad / Somerset & Cambria Branch / Rockwood & Johnstown LineCompany Branch Railroad Lines

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Rockwood, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,375

Peaked at 1,375 in 1940; 843 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Rockwood on the map, 1921 to 1981

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

Rockwood on the 1921 USGS mapRockwood on the 1939 USGS mapRockwood on the 1944 USGS mapRockwood on the 1968 USGS mapRockwood on the 1973 USGS mapRockwood on the 1981 USGS map1921Meyersdale 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 Rockwood.

Timeline

Rockwood, 1857 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingRockwood is established
  3. 1860In the archiveMap of Casselman and Mineral Point Area from 1860 Somerset County, Pennsylvania, Map by E…
  4. 1879Post officeThe Rockwood post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1914In the archiveCasselman River Bridge Construction Rockwood Pennsylvania from Baltimore & Ohio Employes …
  7. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 1,375
  9. 1969In the archiveComing at us is WM F7A 56 with a freight
By decade

Rockwood, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s2 items
Map of Casselman and Mineral Point Area from 1860 Somerset County, Pennsylvania, Map by Edward L Walker1860Map of Casselman and Mineral Point Area from 1860 Som…MapMap of Mineral Point, Pennsylvania, from 1860 Somerset County Map by Edward L Walker1860Map of Mineral Point, Pennsylvania, from 1860 Somerse…Map
1910s2 items
Casselman River Bridge Construction Rockwood Pennsylvania from Baltimore & Ohio Employes Magazine June 1914 Vol 2 No 09…1914Casselman River Bridge Construction Rockwood Pennsylv…Map of Rockwood, Pennsylvania, area from 1915 Somerset County Public Road Map by Ralph C Benedict and Gustave P Strum1915Map of Rockwood, Pennsylvania, area from 1915 Somerse…Map
1920s–1950snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1960s1 item
Coming at us is WM F7A 56 with a freight1969Coming at us is WM F7A 56 with a freight
1970s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Historic American Buildings Survey, 1938 VIEW OF FRONT. - W. L. Shaulis HouseDate?Historic American Buildings Survey, 1938 VIEW OF FRON…
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Casselman River Bridge Construction Rockwood Pennsylvania from Baltimore & Ohio Employes Magazine June 1914 Vol 2 No 09…
Retake this viewCasselman River Bridge Construction Rockwood Pennsylvania from Baltimore & Ohio Employes Magazine June 1914 Vol 2 No 09…, 1914

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Rockwood’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Rockwood

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Penrose Wolf Building
Penrose Wolf Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Colonial Revivals1
Penrose Wolf BuildingLate Victorian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Rockwood

Nobody well known was born in Rockwood itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
D
Dave VescioAmerican actor · b. 1970
John Charles ThomasAmerican opera singer · b. 1890
Joseph C. PringeyAmerican politician · b. 1858
Pete ZornAmerican musician · b. 1950
Alexander Hamilton CoffrothAmerican politician · b. 1828
Jacob Miller CampbellUnion United States Army officer · b. 1821
Help out

Finish Rockwood’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewCasselman River Bridge Construction Roc…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Black TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMilford TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Rockwood’s history

What year was Rockwood founded?

In 1857, according to Wikidata. Rockwood’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1880 counted 331 people here.

What is on the National Register in Rockwood?

One place: the Penrose Wolf Building (listed 2002).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.