Shippensburg dates to 1730, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #45 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 324 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1923 on, and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1789.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Shippensburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shippensburg is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #45 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shippensburg’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 Shippensburg’s 585 sits above most of its state (95% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 329 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1730.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.5 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 Shippensburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Shippensburg is the oldest community of the Cumberland Valley, and the second oldest west of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania (after York to the east). In July 1730, 12 Scots-Irish families came to the site of the present-day Shippensburg and built cabin homes along Burd's Run. Shippensburg began as the western outpost of colonial settlement.
The village received its name from Edward Shippen, a prominent resident of Lancaster (and onetime mayor of Philadelphia) who obtained the patent to the land from the heirs of William Penn. Edward Shippen's granddaughter, Peggy Shippen, was historically notable as the wife of General Benedict Arnold, who betrayed the Continental Army by defecting to the British during the American Revolutionary War.
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 1730, according to Wikidata. Shippensburg’s post office opened in 1789, and the census of 1810 counted 1,159 people here.
How does Shippensburg rank for history?
Shippensburg is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #45 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 Shippensburg?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Widow Piper's Tavern (listed 1974, the first), 1 historic district, the Shippensburg Historic District, with 324 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 329 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Shippensburg?
27% of Shippensburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1953.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.
1923
1923
2008
