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History · Stockertown

Stockertown’s post office opened in 1826, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1943 on, and the census since 1880.

1826first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Stockertown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Stockertown began

When was Stockertown founded?

1826

The Stockertown post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1901.

First census: 143 in 18802020 census: 919200 years
Founding year: the first Stockertown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1901.The full story ↓

What stands out about Stockertown’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Stockertown’s homes were built before 1948.Deep rootsA post office since 1826: 200 years of Stockertown.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stockertown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stockertown’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCentennial hotel: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Stockertown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stockertown.

Read it all →

Stockertown was named for the Stockers, a Swiss family who settled on the land in the late 18th century. The post village was referred to as Stockersville as of 1845, and described as a very fertile area. In late 1900, by which time the village was being called Stockertown, a group of the village's citizens petitioned Northampton County Court to grant the community the status of a borough. That petition was granted and, early in 1901, the borough government was organized.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Stockertown, 1826 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1826Post officeThe Stockertown post office opens
  3. 1877In the archiveCentennial hotel
  4. 20th century
  5. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
From the old history books

What they wrote about Stockertown in 1920

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

Near to the former location of the Friedensthal Economy, on the main road from Easton to the Wind Gap, six miles from the former place, is the borough of Stockertown, laid out by Andrew Stocker, from whom it received its name. The village in 1871 contained two hotels, two dry-goods and grocery stor…
History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh under supervision and revision of William J. Heller, assisted by an advisory board of editors..1920 · page 527Read the page →
Read the text

Near to the former location of the Friedensthal Economy, on the main road from Easton to the Wind Gap, six miles from the former place, is the borough of Stockertown, laid out by Andrew Stocker, from whom it received its name. The village in 1871 contained two hotels, two dry-goods and grocery stores, two saddler}' and harness shops, one tin shop, two wheelwright and blacksmith shops, one grist mill, one tannery, one schoolhouse and about twent}- dwellings. It was incorporated as a borough by a decree of court, December 17, 1900. The borough, which was originally a part of Forks,

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.

By decade

Stockertown, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s2 items
Centennial hotel1877Centennial hotelCentennial hotel1877Centennial hotel
Today4 recent
Stockertown, PA municipal building and post office, Nov. 20222022Stockertown, PA municipal building and post office, N…Stockertown map2009Stockertown mapMapStockertown Post Office2008Stockertown Post OfficeRailtrail2006Railtrail
On the map

Stockertown on the map, 1943 to 1997

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

Stockertown on the 1943 USGS mapStockertown on the 1984 USGS mapStockertown on the 1997 USGS map1943Bethlehem sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Stockertown.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Centennial hotel
Retake this viewCentennial hotel, 1877

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Stockertown’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Stockertown, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 927

Between 143 and 927 people in every census since 1880.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Stockertown

Nobody well known was born in Stockertown itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
James McKeen CattellAmerican psychologist · b. 1860
Jack ColemanAmerican actor and screenwriter · b. 1958
R
Randall MunroeAmerican cartoonist, author and engineer · b. 1984
Y
Yvonne ZimaAmerican actress · b. 1989
V
Vanessa ZimaAmerican actress · b. 1986
F
FionaAmerican rock singer and actress · b. 1961
Places that used to be

Old corners

Stockertown’s post office has been open since 1826.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Friedenthal

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.

Plainfield TownshipIts storyB−Palmer Township2 historic placesC+TatamyIts storyB+Forks TownshipIts storyC−Upper Nazareth TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Stockertown’s history

What year was Stockertown founded?

The Stockertown post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1901.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.