Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Its Register listing is the Stillwater Covered Bridge No. 134. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1900.
Stillwater dates its founding to 1832 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stillwater’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stillwater. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Stillwater.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Stillwater.
The first store in Stillwater was founded in 1847 by Daniel and James McHenry. Stillwater was officially separated from Fishing Creek Township in 1899. There were few industries in the borough in the past, and those that did exist had mainly to do with lumber. The Stillwater Covered Bridge No. 134 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Stillwater, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Stillwater is a beautiful little nook in the township of Fishingcreek, and on the bank of the stream. It has several very tasteful dwelling houses, two stores, a smith shop, school house, and two beautiful church buildings.
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.
2026Stillwater, PA Christian Church, July 2026
2026Lighthouse Family Fellowship church, Stillwater, PA, …
2013Stillwater, Pennsylvania
2012Stillwater, Pennsylvania
2012Stillwater, Pennsylvania
2012Stillwater, Pennsylvania
2012Stillwater, Pennsylvania
2012Stillwater, Pennsylvania
2009Stillwater Covered Bridge - Pennsylvania
2009Stillwater Covered Bridge - Pennsylvania
2009Stillwater Covered Bridge - Pennsylvania
2005Church inThe country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 166 and 223 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Stillwater’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Stillwater itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1832, according to Wikidata. Stillwater’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1900 counted 177 people here.
One place: the Stillwater Covered Bridge No. 134 (listed 1979).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
