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BHistory
History · St. Lawrence

St. Lawrence was first counted by the census in 1920, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Levan Farm and the Lutz, John F., Furniture Co. & Funerary. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1920.

1920first census
2on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How St. Lawrence began

When was St. Lawrence founded?

1920

St. Lawrence first appears in the census in 1920. Another post office, Esterly (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,270 in 19202020 census: 1,892106 years

How historic is St. Lawrence?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives St. Lawrence’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Lawrence is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Lawrence’s overall grade.
Founding era1920, from the first census: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194025.8% of homes (±4.8) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 4 historic buildings, 21.6 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%
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 St. Lawrence’s 21.6 sits above most of its state (82% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points).

Founding year: the first census (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. Lawrence’s 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 St. Lawrence are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18948 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1999. Watch St. Lawrence change.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,862 in 1970; 1,892 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Lawrence’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Lawrence’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
On the map

St. Lawrence on the map, 1894 to 1999

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

St. Lawrence on the 1894 USGS mapSt. Lawrence on the 1913 USGS mapSt. Lawrence on the 1947 USGS mapSt. Lawrence on the 1950 USGS mapSt. Lawrence on the 1968 USGS mapSt. Lawrence on the 1974 USGS mapSt. Lawrence on the 1983 USGS mapSt. Lawrence on the 1999 USGS map1894Reading 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. Lawrence.

People over time

St. Lawrence, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,862

Peaked at 2,862 in 1970; 1,892 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on St. Lawrence’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How St. Lawrence came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. Lawrence.

Read it all →

The John F. Lutz Furniture Co. & Funerary buildings was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about St. Lawrence in 1909

Passages that mention St. Lawrence, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Klemmer, and they reside with her father; Mary Ida, born June 23, 1875, died Aug. 1, 1877; and Elmenda M., born June 1, 1878, m. Samuel Long, and they reside at St. Lawrence, Exeter township, where he is a weaver in Brumbach's woolen mills. Mr. Babb and his family are members of the Lutheran congre…
Historical and biographical annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, embracing a concise history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, comp. by Morton L. Montgomery ..1909 · page 650Read the page →
Read the text

Klemmer, and they reside with her father; Mary Ida, born June 23, 1875, died Aug. 1, 1877; and Elmenda M., born June 1, 1878, m. Samuel Long, and they reside at St. Lawrence, Exeter township, where he is a weaver in Brumbach's woolen mills. Mr. Babb and his family are members of the Lutheran congregation at Spies's Church.

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. Lawrence, 1880 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Born hereOscar S. Gill is born here
  3. 1894Post officeThe Esterly post office opens
  4. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1954Post officeThe Esterly post office closes
  7. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 2,862
By decade

St. Lawrence, decade by decade

Today7 recent
St. Lawrence, PA post office, June 20252025St. Lawrence, PA post office, June 2025St. Lawrence, PA Municipal Building, June 20252025St. Lawrence, PA Municipal Building, June 2025Former church, St. Lawrence, PA, June 20252025Former church, St. Lawrence, PA, June 2025Former St. Lawrence, PA municipal building, June 20252025Former St. Lawrence, PA municipal building, June 2025Dentist office and castle-like home in St. Lawrence, PA, June 20252025Dentist office and castle-like home in St. Lawrence, …Community UCC, St. Lawrence, PA, June 20252025Community UCC, St. Lawrence, PA, June 2025St Lawrence2018St Lawrence
On the National Register

2 historic places in St. Lawrence

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Levan Farm
Levan FarmLutz, John F., Furniture Co. & Funerary
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Georgian1
Italianate1
Levan FarmGeorgian
Lutz, John F., Furniture Co. & FuneraryItalianate

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Esterly, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
MarywoodSaint Lawrence

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Exeter Township7 historic placesB−Mount PennIts storyA−Reiffton2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPennsideIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJacksonwaldIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLower Alsace TownshipIts storyB

Questions about St. Lawrence’s history

What year was St. Lawrence founded?

The St. Lawrence post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1927.

How does St. Lawrence rank for history?

St. Lawrence is more historic than 58% 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.

What is on the National Register in St. Lawrence?

Two places: the Levan Farm (listed 1978) and the Lutz, John F., Furniture Co. & Funerary (1996).

How old are the homes in St. Lawrence?

26% of St. Lawrence’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1968.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 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.