St. Marys dates to 1804, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #127 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 399 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1860.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Marys is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #127 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Marys’ 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. Marys’ 320 sits above most of its state (93% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 401 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1804.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. 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 St. Marys’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Saint Joseph ConventSaint Mary's CatholicSaint Marys Protestant
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
St. Marys, census by census
Lost a third of its people between 1960 and 1990, then more than doubled.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on St. Marys’ Wikipedia page.
The story so far
St. Marys, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of St. Marys yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
St. Marys is a city in Elk County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 12,738 at the 2020 census. It was founded December 8, 1842, and was originally inhabited mostly by Bavarian Roman Catholics. It is home to Straub Brewery and the first Benedictine convent in the United States. In 1992, the borough of St. Marys absorbed the surrounding township of Benzinger and incorporated as a city. Despite being Pennsylvania's second-largest city by area after Philadelphia, it is one of the state's least densely populated cities. St. Marys is in the center of Pennsylvania's Elk country. It is one of the few places east of the Mississippi River that allows hunting of wild elk. The area is kn…
St. Marys was established in 1804. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 13,070 to 12,738 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
St. Marys, 1804 to 2000
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 1804, according to Wikidata. St. Marys’ post office opened in 1845, and the census of 1860 counted 692 people here.
How does St. Marys rank for history?
St. Marys is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #127 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.
What is on the National Register in St. Marys?
Three places: the John E. Weidenboerner House (listed 1992), the Decker's Chapel (1998) and the St. Marys Historic District (1998).
How old are the homes in St. Marys?
21% of St. Marys’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1961.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) 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.
1895
1895
