Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sharpsburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sharpsburg is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #376 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Sharpsburg’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 Sharpsburg’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.
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 (±10.2 points). Two sources give 1826.
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 Sharpsburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Borough of Sharpsburg is located along the Allegheny River just over 5 miles (8 km) outside of downtown Pittsburgh. Sharpsburg has a rich history dating back to the 18th century when the Seneca people settled into the area. One Seneca in particular, Guyasuta, has a special connection to the community.
Passages that mention Sharpsburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 528Read the page →
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P. C. Wagner, merchant. Homestead, was , born Aug. 17, 1860, in Sharpsburg, Pa., a son j of Peter and Elizabeth (Burkett) Wagner, both natives of Germany. The father learned the shoemaker’s trade in his native home, and followed it in Sharpsburg after his arrival there in 1849, conducting a good business.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 405Read the page →
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1874, and took charge of St. Augustine's congregation in Lawrenceville, which is still under their pastoral care. The Congregation of the Holy Ghost came to the diocese in the same year, 1874, and have charge of the German congregation at Sharpsburg and others, besides conducting the Catholic college, of which mention is yet to be made, and assisting in several other parishes. Not
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History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 403Read the page →
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1874, and took charge of St. Augustine’s congregation in Lawrenceville, which is still under their pastoral care. The Congregation of the Holy Ghost came to the diocese in the same year, 1874, and have charge of the German congregation at Sharpsburg and others, besides conducting the Catholic college, of which mention is yet to be made, and assisting in several other parishes. Not
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 160Read the page →
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St. Joseph's Catholic church, Sharpsburg, was dedicated April 29, 1849, the cornerstone having been laid June 25th of the previous year. The first baptism in the parish was performed by Father Gibbs November 21, 1847.
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
Sharpsburg, 1826 to 1933
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.
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.
In 1826, according to Wikidata. Sharpsburg’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1850 counted 1,229 people here.
How does Sharpsburg rank for history?
Sharpsburg is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #376 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.
How old are the homes in Sharpsburg?
48% of Sharpsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1942.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), 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.
1927
1933
1933
