On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Clair is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #356 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Clair’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 St. Clair’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.0 points). Two sources give 1831.
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 St. Clair’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Clair. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1889Pottsville 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 St. Clair.
The story so far
St. Clair, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of St. Clair yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
St. Clair is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, St. Clair had a population of 2,745. It is located 2 mi (3.2 km) north of Pottsville in the southern Coal Region. Extensive deposits of hard coal are present. St. Clair is noted for manufacturing squibs, fuses and caps used in the mining industry.
St. Clair was established in 1831. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,004 to 2,745 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about St. Clair in 1907
Passages that mention St. Clair, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania ... including a genealogical and biographical record of many families and persons in the county1907 · page 134Read the page →
Read the text
At one time he owned twenty tenement houses, but he has recently sold a number of these properties. He also owns two houses in the village of St. Clair. In politics Mr. Egan is a stanch Democrat, but he has never sought nor held public office. He and his family are communicants of the Catholic church, being members of the parish of the Church of the Annunciation. Feb. 10, 1882, Mr.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania ... including a genealogical and biographical record of many families and persons in the county1907 · page 148Read the page →
Read the text
gineer H. K. Nichols, of Pottsville, as a messenger. After two years of service there he went to work on the railroad and spent the following two years in that labor. For some time he was employed as a clerk at the St. Clair coal station and then, in 1880, he returned to Port Carbon. There he embarked in the undertaking and furniture business and since that time has been most successfully engaged in its conduct. His stock of goods is always up-to-date and no one who knows Mr. Fayhey doubts his desire
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.
Timeline
St. Clair, 1831 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 1831, according to Wikidata. St. Clair’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1850 counted 2,016 people here.
How does St. Clair rank for history?
St. Clair is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #356 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.
How old are the homes in St. Clair?
71% of St. Clair’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (16), 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 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.
1946
1946
1946
2024
2022
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2012
2012