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Selinsgrove, PennsylvaniaPhoto: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0
AHistory
History · Selinsgrove

Selinsgrove dates to 1787, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #204 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Selinsgrove Hall and Seibert Hall and the Gov. Simon Snyder Mansion. Its Register listings are the Selinsgrove Hall and Seibert Hall and the Gov. Simon Snyder Mansion. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1860.

1787founded
2on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Selinsgrove’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Selinsgrove began

When was Selinsgrove founded?

1787

Selinsgrove dates its founding to 1787 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 1,261 in 18602020 census: 5,713239 years

How historic is Selinsgrove?

A

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1808.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Selinsgrove’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Selinsgrove is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #204 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Selinsgrove’s overall grade.
Founding era1787, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194030.9% of homes (±6.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 5.4 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 89%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 80%

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 Selinsgrove’s 5.4 sits above most of its state (68% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). Two sources give 1787.

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 Selinsgrove’s past

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

On the map since 18937 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1999. Watch Selinsgrove change.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1917–1933.Old housesHalf of Selinsgrove’s homes were built before 1950.Deep rootsEstablished in 1787: 239 years of Selinsgrove.
★ What stands out · On the map

Selinsgrove on the map, 1893 to 1999

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

Selinsgrove on the 1893 USGS mapSelinsgrove on the 1943 USGS mapSelinsgrove on the 1953 USGS mapSelinsgrove on the 1965 USGS mapSelinsgrove on the 1973 USGS mapSelinsgrove on the 1987 USGS mapSelinsgrove on the 1999 USGS map1893Sunbury 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 Selinsgrove.

By decade

Selinsgrove, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1930s12 items
Pennsylvania - Rockview through Springdale1917Pennsylvania - Rockview through SpringdalePennsylvania - Susquehanna River1917Pennsylvania - Susquehanna RiverBreezeway Motor Court, U.S. Routes 11 and 15 -- 1-2 mile south, Selinsgrove, Penna (86843)c. 1930Breezeway Motor Court, U.S. Routes 11 and 15 -- 1-2 m…The Gables Motor Court, U.S. Routes 11 and 15 1 mile north of Selinsgrove, Penna (83813)c. 1930The Gables Motor Court, U.S. Routes 11 and 15 1 mile …The Sundial Motel, located on U.S. Route 11 and 15, Selinsgrove, Penna (84697)c. 1930The Sundial Motel, located on U.S. Route 11 and 15, S…HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 0 of 19) - Old Academy, Market and West Snyder Streets1933HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 0 of 19) - Old Academy, Mar…HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 1 of 19) - Old Academy, Market and West Snyder Streets1933HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 1 of 19) - Old Academy, Mar…HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 10 of 19) - Old Academy, Market and West Snyder Streets1933HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 10 of 19) - Old Academy, Ma…HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 11 of 19) - Old Academy, Market and West Snyder Streets1933HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 11 of 19) - Old Academy, Ma…HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 12 of 19) - Old Academy, Market and West Snyder Streets1933HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 12 of 19) - Old Academy, Ma…HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 13 of 19) - Old Academy, Market and West Snyder Streets1933HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 13 of 19) - Old Academy, Ma…HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 14 of 19) - Old Academy, Market and West Snyder Streets1933HABS PA,55-SELI,1- (sheet 14 of 19) - Old Academy, Ma…
1940s–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
The story

How Selinsgrove came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Selinsgrove.

Read it all →

Selinsgrove was founded in 1787 by Captain Anthony Selin, who fought in the American Revolution.

The Penns Creek Massacre on October 16, 1755 was the first of a series of deadly raids on Pennsylvania settlements by Native Americans allied with the French in the French and Indian War. A marker on the bank of Penns Creek north of Selinsgrove commemorates the massacre of 14 settlers and the capture of 11 more. In response to this and other Indian actions that day, Fort Augusta, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, the largest of Pennsylvania's frontier forts, was built in 1756 as a result of this conflict.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Selinsgrove, 1787 to 1968

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1787
    FoundingSelinsgrove is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1808Post officeThe Selins Grove post office opens
  5. 1854Born hereJacob S. Coxey Sr. is born here
  6. 1863Born hereCummings C. Chesney is born here
  7. 1891Born hereLillian Estelle Fisher is born here
  8. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1917In the archivePennsylvania - Rockview through Springdale
  11. 1930In the archiveBreezeway Motor Court, U.S. Routes 11 and 15 -- 1-2 mile south, Selinsgrove, Penna (86843)
  12. 1968Born hereMatthew Fries is born here
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.

Pennsylvania - Rockview through Springdale
Retake this viewPennsylvania - Rockview through Springdale, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Selinsgrove

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Gov. Simon Snyder Mansion
Selinsgrove Hall and Seibert HallGov. Simon Snyder Mansion
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Selinsgrove Hall and Seibert HallItalianate
All 2 listings
Gov. Simon Snyder MansionBuilding · listed 1978

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

People over time

Selinsgrove, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0001900195020005,713

Grew from 1,261 people in 1860 to 5,713 in 2020, 4 times over.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Selinsgrove

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C
Cummings C. ChesneyAmerican electrical engineer · b. 1863
Jacob S. Coxey Sr.American mayor · b. 1854
L
Lillian Estelle Fisher20th-century American historian and author · b. 1891
M
Matthew FriesAmerican jazz pianist, composer, educator · b. 1968
Harvey HarmanAmerican football player and coach · b. 1900
J
John I. WoodruffAmerican football coach and politician · b. 1864
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Dogtown
1cemetery inside Selinsgrove
Evergreen

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Selinsgrove’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.
Retake an old viewPennsylvania - Rockview through Springd…: 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.

Penn TownshipIts storyC−Lower Augusta Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Selinsgrove’s history

What year was Selinsgrove founded?

In 1787, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Selinsgrove’s post office opened in 1808, and the census of 1860 counted 1,261 people here.

How does Selinsgrove rank for history?

Selinsgrove is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #204 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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.

What is on the National Register in Selinsgrove?

Two places: the Selinsgrove Hall and Seibert Hall (listed 1979) and the Gov. Simon Snyder Mansion (1978).

How old are the homes in Selinsgrove?

31% of Selinsgrove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1950.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.