Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Shamokin Dam’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shamokin Dam is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shamokin Dam’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 Shamokin Dam’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 1745.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 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 Shamokin Dam’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Pennsylvania was, for centuries, the home of many Native American tribes. During the 17th century the region was dominated by the Haudenosaunee Iroquois Confederacy, which at that time included the Mohawks, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, the Senecas and the Oneidas. Under the Confederacy the area was hunting grounds for the Delaware, Shawnee, Conoy, Monsey, Mohican and Nanticoke peoples. Allumapees was a Delaware chief who lived in Shamokin (now called Sunbury).
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 1745, according to Wikidata. Shamokin Dam’s post office opened in 1834.
How does Shamokin Dam rank for history?
Shamokin Dam is more historic than 62% 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 Shamokin Dam?
11% of Shamokin Dam’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
c. 1930
c. 1930
c. 1930
2015
2014