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C+History
History · Snow Shoe Township

Snow Shoe Township dates to 1850, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1928 on and the census since 1880.

1850founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Snow Shoe Township began

When was Snow Shoe Township founded?

1850

Snow Shoe Township dates its founding to 1850 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 400 in 18802020 census: 1,621176 years

How historic is Snow Shoe Township?

C+

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855.
History grade

What drives Snow Shoe Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Snow Shoe Township is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Snow Shoe Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194017.6% of homes (±4.1) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%
NewerOlder

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 Snow Shoe Township’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 1850.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Snow Shoe Township’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Snow Shoe Township, and 14 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Snow Shoe Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Meshannon
1855–1881
Moshannon
1881–today
Clarence
1887–today
Groton Heights
1894–1907
Kato
1914–1937
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ButtsCherry RunClarenceFountainGillintownGortonKatoMoshannonMusellmans CrossingOld SidePancakePantherPoorman SideShettleston
Gone or out of use
JBM Mines StationlocaleMountain Top AirportairportPoorman Side SchoolschoolSunday Cornerslocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Snow Shoe Township
AskeyDormition of the Mother of God ByzantineSaint MichaelsSnow Shoe Church of Christ

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Snow Shoe Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Snow Shoe Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Snow Shoe Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Snow Shoe Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Snow Shoe is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Snow Shoe had a population of 670. According to tradition, Snow Shoe was so named when a pair of snowshoes were found at an Indian village near the present town site.

Snow Shoe Township was established in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,746 to 1,621 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Snow Shoe Township, 1850 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850
    FoundingSnow Shoe Township is established
  3. 1855Post officeThe Meshannon post office opens
  4. 1881Post officeThe Meshannon post office closes
  5. 1881Post officeThe Moshannon post office opens
  6. 1887Post officeThe Clarence post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Snow Shoe Township, decade by decade

Today7 recent
I-80 wb in Snow Shoe Borough, PA, June 20242024I-80 wb in Snow Shoe Borough, PA, June 2024US Post Office Snow Show PA Jul 172017US Post Office Snow Show PA Jul 17Snow Shoe PA house2015Snow Shoe PA houseSnow Shoe PA United Methodist2015Snow Shoe PA United MethodistSnow Shoe PA Industrial building2015Snow Shoe PA Industrial buildingFormer Snow Shoe PA Presbyterian2015Former Snow Shoe PA PresbyterianCrossing the Stream2007Crossing the Stream
On the map

Snow Shoe Township on the map, 1928 to 1996

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Snow Shoe Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Snow Shoe Township on the 1928 USGS mapSnow Shoe Township on the 1931 USGS mapSnow Shoe Township on the 1960 USGS mapSnow Shoe Township on the 1971 USGS mapSnow Shoe Township on the 1996 USGS map1928Snow Shoe sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Snow Shoe Township.

People over time

Snow Shoe Township, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 800

Between 400 and 800 people in every census since 1880.

11 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Snow Shoe Township’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Snow Shoe Township

Nobody well known was born in Snow Shoe Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jonathan FrakesAmerican actor and director · b. 1952
Jeff VanderMeerAmerican writer · b. 1968
Glenn ThompsonU.S. Representative from Pennsylvania · b. 1959
Andrew Gregg CurtinAmerican politician · b. 1815
George Grey BarnardAmerican sculptor · b. 1863
John Montgomery WardAmerican Major League Baseball pitcher, shortst… · b. 1860
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Cooper Township1 historic placeA−Burnside TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion Township1 historic placeA−Boggs Township3 historic placesA−Curtin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRush Township5 historic placesA+

Questions about Snow Shoe Township’s history

What year was Snow Shoe Township founded?

In 1850, according to Wikidata. Snow Shoe Township’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 400 people here.

How does Snow Shoe Township rank for history?

Snow Shoe Township is more historic than 37% 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 Snow Shoe Township?

18% of Snow Shoe Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1977.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (7), 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.