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Benjamin B. Leas HousePhoto: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Shirleysburg

Shirleysburg dates to 1780, and 69% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1933 on.

1780founded
0on the National Register
69%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Shirleysburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Shirleysburg began

When was Shirleysburg founded?

1780

Shirleysburg dates its founding to 1780 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1805.

2020 census: 141246 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1805.The full story ↓

What stands out about Shirleysburg’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Shirleysburg’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsEstablished in 1780: 246 years of Shirleysburg.
★ What stands out · The story

How Shirleysburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Shirleysburg.

Read it all →

Shirleysburg was originally the site of, and takes its name from, Fort Shirley, a French and Indian War fort. In 1754, the Oneida chief Monacatoocha (Scarouady) led about 200 pro-British Native Americans (Iroquois, Lenape, and Shawnee) from their village of Logstown on the western frontier, to take refuge at George Croghan's trading post. That same year, Croghan built a stockaded blockhouse known as Croghan's Fort. Following General Edward Braddock's defeat in July 1755, Governor Robert Hunter Morris ordered it renamed Fort Shirley and had several other forts built in a defensive line, to protect settlers from Native American attacks. The fort was abandoned in late 1756 because it was considered too difficult to defend.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Shirleysburg, 1780 to 1933

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1780
    FoundingShirleysburg is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1805Post officeThe Shirleysburg post office opens
  5. 1856Born hereR.W. Dromgold is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1933In the archiveWalker Farmstead, Farmhouse, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 m…
By decade

Shirleysburg, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
Walker Farmstead, Farmhouse, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg boro…1933Walker Farmstead, Farmhouse, West side of U.S. Route …Walker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg borough line, S…1933Walker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at inte…Walker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg borough line, S…1933Walker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at inte…Walker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg borough line, S…1933Walker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at inte…Walker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg borough line, S…1933Walker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at inte…Walker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg borough line, S…1933Walker Farmstead, West side of U.S. Route 522 at inte…
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
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.

Walker Farmstead, Farmhouse, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg boro…
Retake this viewWalker Farmstead, Farmhouse, West side of U.S. Route 522 at intersection with T-373, .3 mile south of Shirleysburg boro…, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Shirleysburg’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWalker Farmstead, Farmhouse, West side …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Shirleysburg’s history

What year was Shirleysburg founded?

In 1780, according to Wikidata. Shirleysburg’s post office opened in 1805.

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), 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.