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History · Spring Mills

Spring Mills’ post office opened in 1820, and 73% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1924 on.

1820first post office
0on the National Register
73%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Spring Mills began

When was Spring Mills founded?

1820

The Spring Mills post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 365206 years
Founding year: the first Spring Mills post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Spring Mills’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Spring Mills are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Spring Mills’ homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsA post office since 1820: 206 years of Spring Mills.On the map since 19244 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1998. Watch Spring Mills change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Spring Mills’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Spring Mills’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Spring Mills, in brief

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

Spring Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 268 at the 2010 census.

Its first post office opened in 1820. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 268 to 365 (+36%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Spring Mills on the map, 1924 to 1998

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

Spring Mills on the 1924 USGS mapSpring Mills on the 1966 USGS mapSpring Mills on the 1973 USGS mapSpring Mills on the 1998 USGS map1924Centre Hall 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 Spring Mills.

Famous people

Famous people close to Spring Mills

Nobody well known was born in Spring Mills 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

Questions about Spring Mills’ history

What year was Spring Mills founded?

The Spring Mills post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.