State College’s post office opened in 1874, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #477 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 1,005 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1900.
From State College’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How State College began
When was State College founded?
1874
The State College post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1896. Two smaller post offices, Centre Furnace (1798) and Agricultural College (1862), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 851 in 19002020 census: 40,501152 years
How historic is State College?
B+
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first State College post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1896.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives State College’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, State College is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #477 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of State College’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 State College’s 246 sits above most of its state (92% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1,010 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% 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 (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1896 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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 State College’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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, old corners and burying grounds
State College’s post office has been open since 1874. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Centre Furnace
1798–1835
Agricultural College
1862–1874
State College
1874–today
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
University Park
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside State College
Grace Lutheran Church ColumbariumSaint Andrew's Episcopal Church ColumbariumState College Presbyterian Church Columbarium
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
State College on the map, 1908 to 1987
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of State College. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Bellefonte 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 State College.
The Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania was founded in 1855 on 400-acres of land in what was Harris Township. Although the area was isolated from most of the state, the land was reasonably affordable and the Nittany Valley was rich in limestone, causing exceptional soil fertility. The land was clear-cut for charcoal, powering the adjacent Centre Furnace. In 1862 the school was renamed to The Agricultural College of Pennsylvania.
Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad, after changing cars at Bellefonte. Conveyances cannot always be obtained there, so that it would probably be better to go by train to State College from Bellefonte. There are several excellent liveries there, also automobiles which can be hired. An admission fee, moderate when one considers the uniqueness of the trip by boat into the Stygian depths of 'he cave, is charged to all visitors.
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
State College, 1798 to 1977
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.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The State College post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1896.
How does State College rank for history?
State College is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #477 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 State College?
4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Ag Hill Complex (listed 1979, the first), and 2 historic districts, the College Heights Historic District and the Holmes-Foster-Highlands Historic District, with 1,005 contributing buildings. 1,010 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in State College?
12% of State College’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1890
1890
1890
1896
1896