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History · Summerhill

Summerhill dates to 1810, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1880.

1810founded
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Summerhill began

When was Summerhill founded?

1810

Summerhill dates its founding to 1810 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 343 in 18802020 census: 479216 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓

What stands out about Summerhill’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 Summerhill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 890 in 1920; 479 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1981. Watch Summerhill change.Old housesHalf of Summerhill’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Summerhill’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Summerhill, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 890

Peaked at 890 in 1920; 479 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Summerhill on the map, 1904 to 1981

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

Summerhill on the 1904 USGS mapSummerhill on the 1964 USGS mapSummerhill on the 1972 USGS mapSummerhill on the 1981 USGS map1904Johnstown 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 Summerhill.

The story

How Summerhill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Summerhill.

Read it all →

A small borough in the Allegheny Mountains in southwestern Pennsylvania, Summerhill was settled in the early 19th century and grew in large part from the regional presence of Allegheny Portage Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad.

In 1794, Thomas and Barbara Croyle and their family were among the first to settle in the town. Their family homestead, a two-story stone structure that still stands, served the family as a fortress against Indian attacks. According to some sources, Indians burned the Croyles' cabin and property, causing the family to seek refuge at Fort Bedford. By 1800, Barbara Croyle chose to rebuild their homestead with stone; she limited windows to two sides of the house to keep it stronger if attacked.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Summerhill in 1907

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

Bending again to the west in a compound curve in the shape of an inverted S, about a mile in length, it is crossed below the Deep Cut by Bridge No. 2, and about three hundred yards east of Summerhill Station liy the three-span stone bridge designated No. 3. From this point the river makes a regular…
History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania1907 · page 225Read the page →
Read the text

Bending again to the west in a compound curve in the shape of an inverted S, about a mile in length, it is crossed below the Deep Cut by Bridge No. 2, and about three hundred yards east of Summerhill Station liy the three-span stone bridge designated No. 3. From this point the river makes a regular curve to a point about half a mile west of Summerhill Station, where it is crossed by Bridge No. 4. Nearly midway on this bend is located the dam that furnishes the water power for the grist

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
it crossed under the Pennsylvania Eailroad west of Summerhill, and back again at the long bridge at the little town, again crossing under it at the bridge west of the deep cut east of Summerhill, and recrossing at the other side of this cut, it passed on through Jefferson, now known as Wilmore. Abo…
History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania1907 · page 358Read the page →
Read the text

it crossed under the Pennsylvania Eailroad west of Summerhill, and back again at the long bridge at the little town, again crossing under it at the bridge west of the deep cut east of Summerhill, and recrossing at the other side of this cut, it passed on through Jefferson, now known as Wilmore. About two. miles east of Wilmore it left the Old Portage, turning to the south to pass around Plane No. 2, near Portage, and about a half mile west of Ben's Creek, it came back in the roadbed of the Old

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

Summerhill, 1810 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1810
    FoundingSummerhill is established
  3. 1840Post officeThe Summerhill post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 890
By decade

Summerhill, decade by decade

Today14 recent
Summerhill, PA post office, Aug. 20242024Summerhill, PA post office, Aug. 2024Summerhill, PA park, Aug. 20242024Summerhill, PA park, Aug. 2024Summerhill, PA fire department, Aug. 20242024Summerhill, PA fire department, Aug. 2024Summerhill, PA borough hall, Aug. 20242024Summerhill, PA borough hall, Aug. 2024Summerhill Region - panoramio (16)2016Summerhill Region - panoramio (16)Summerhill Region - panoramio (11)2016Summerhill Region - panoramio (11)Summerhill December 2015 - panoramio (16)2015Summerhill December 2015 - panoramio (16)Summerhill December 2015 - panoramio (14)2015Summerhill December 2015 - panoramio (14)Summerhill December 2015 - panoramio (10)2015Summerhill December 2015 - panoramio (10)St. John's ELCA2015St. John's ELCASummerhill - panoramio (3)2014Summerhill - panoramio (3)Summerhill - panoramio (10)2014Summerhill - panoramio (10)Summer Hill Township - panoramio (27)2014Summer Hill Township - panoramio (27)Summer Hill Township - panoramio (22)2014Summer Hill Township - panoramio (22)
Every building

Summerhill, building by building, 1914

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 sheet.

Summerhill fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

Famous people close to Summerhill

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

See all →
Charles BronsonAmerican actor · b. 1921
Carroll BakerAmerican actress · b. 1931
Steve DitkoAmerican comics artist · b. 1927
Alex AzarAmerican politician · b. 1967
Michael NovakAmerican theologian, philosopher, journalist, n… · b. 1933
T
Tim KazurinskyAmerican actor · b. 1950
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Croyle Township1 historic placeA−EhrenfeldIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Summerhill’s history

What year was Summerhill founded?

In 1810, according to Wikidata. Summerhill’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1880 counted 343 people here.

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 (14), 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, 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.