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History · Rome

Rome dates to 1796, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Phillip Paul Bliss House. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1923 on and old-book passages.

1796founded
1on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Rome began

When was Rome founded?

1796

Rome dates its founding to 1796 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1831.

2020 census: 384230 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rome’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1796: 230 years of Rome.Old housesHalf of Rome’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rome’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRome PA Presby PHS534: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Rome, 1796 to 1923

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1796
    FoundingRome is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1831Post officeThe Rome post office opens
  5. 1850Born hereDaniel B. Towner is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1923In the archiveRome PA Presby PHS534
The story

How Rome came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rome.

Read it all →

The Phillip Paul Bliss House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Rome, 1818–1891

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

In the township are a gristmill, owned by Charles Barnes, two miles south of Rome borough, "William Svpber's steam and water grist and saw mill, located three-fourths of a mile north of Rome, and Seneca RussePs steam sawmill four miles north of Rome. There is a steam sawmill near North Rome. North …
History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections1891 · page 487Read the page →
Read the text

In the township are a gristmill, owned by Charles Barnes, two miles south of Rome borough, "William Svpber's steam and water grist and saw mill, located three-fourths of a mile north of Rome, and Seneca RussePs steam sawmill four miles north of Rome. There is a steam sawmill near North Rome. North Rome, situated in Centre valley, has one store.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Dionysius of Alexandria accused at Rome. That argues no jurisdiction in the Bishop of Rome. Paul, Bishop of Antioch, deposed without the knowledge of the Bishop of Rome. Keeps possession of the bishop’s habitation. to the Bishop of Rome, as if he denied the Son to be consubstantial with the Father.'
The history of the popes1844 · page 36Read the page →
Read the text

Dionysius of Alexandria accused at Rome. That argues no jurisdiction in the Bishop of Rome. Paul, Bishop of Antioch, deposed without the knowledge of the Bishop of Rome. Keeps possession of the bishop’s habitation. to the Bishop of Rome, as if he denied the Son to be consubstantial with the Father.'

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
knowledged his innocence ; for speaking of him after his death, he calls him Hilarius of * By the canons of Sardica, the most favorable to the see of Rome, and fatal to the church, that ever were made, the pope was only empowered, upon an appeal to him, to order the cause to be re-examined, not at …
The history of the popes1844 · page 194Read the page →
Read the text

knowledged his innocence ; for speaking of him after his death, he calls him Hilarius of * By the canons of Sardica, the most favorable to the see of Rome, and fatal to the church, that ever were made, the pope was only empowered, upon an appeal to him, to order the cause to be re-examined, not at Rome, but in the province, and by such of the neighboring bishops as he should name, (a) But Leo

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
It was agreed, that both the kings should reside in Rome, and be equal in power ; that as many of the Sabines as were willing might come hither and be incorporated in the tribes and curiae ; that their common city should continue to be called Rome, but that the Ro¬ mans should take the name of Quir…
Vol. 11818 · page 84Read the page →
Read the text

It was agreed, that both the kings should reside in Rome, and be equal in power ; that as many of the Sabines as were willing might come hither and be incorporated in the tribes and curiae ; that their common city should continue to be called Rome, but that the Ro¬ mans should take the name of Quirites3, till then peculiar to the Sabines ; and that the

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.

By decade

Rome, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Rome PA Presby PHS5341923Rome PA Presby PHS534
1930s–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
Today5 recent
Rome, Pennsylvania2012Rome, PennsylvaniaRome, Pennsylvania2012Rome, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania State Route 1872012Pennsylvania State Route 187Pennsylvania State Route 1872007Pennsylvania State Route 187Pennsylvania State Route 1872007Pennsylvania State Route 187
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.

Rome PA Presby PHS534
Retake this viewRome PA Presby PHS534, 1923

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Rome

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
1986
Phillip Paul Bliss House
Phillip Paul Bliss House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Phillip Paul Bliss HouseGreek Revival

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

Questions about Rome’s history

What year was Rome founded?

In 1796, according to Wikidata. Rome’s post office opened in 1831.

What is on the National Register in Rome?

One place: the Phillip Paul Bliss House (listed 1986).

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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.