Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #3 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 2 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1870.
Slatington dates its founding to 1737 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Slatington is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #3 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs put Slatington near the top nationally; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest.
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 Slatington’s 1,182 sits above most of its state (98% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 507 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Slatington’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Slatington.
In 1737, Nicholas Kern was the first settler in what would become Slatington. The Lenape Native Americans were already living along "Warriors Path," which would become Route 873. Kern established a sawmill shortly after arriving.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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.
1896Sheet 1 of 4Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Passages that mention Slatington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
the winter and pursued his studies during the summer. In 1873 he took charge of the Slatington advanced grammar school. In 1875 he was elected principal of the Slatington schools, in which position he served thirteen years, and during which time he conducted a summer normal school at Slatington for ten years, and also officiated, for two terms, as burgess of that town.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
For forty years Mr. Zellner has been prominently identified and largely interested in the industrial and financial affairs of Slatington and that vicinity. He was one of the organizers of the Citizens National Bank at Slatington and has served as a director since its organization ; he is president of the Slatington Knitting Mill, which employs fifty persons; he is one of the
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereAnne Burlak is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Slatington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Slatington.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Slatington’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 1,508 and 4,687 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Slatington’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Slatington’s post office has been open since 1851.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1737, according to Wikidata. Slatington’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1870 counted 1,508 people here.
Slatington is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #3 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.
Three places: the Lehigh Canal (listed 1978), the Fireman's Drinking Fountain (1981) and the Slatington Historic District (2004).
63% of Slatington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (7), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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