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Peach United Church of Christ, Swartzville, PA, Jan. 2025Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
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History · Swartzville

Swartzville’s post office opened in 1859

Most of Swartzville was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1906 on.

1859first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Swartzville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Swartzville began

When was Swartzville founded?

1859

The Swartzville post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 2,273167 years
Founding year: the first Swartzville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Swartzville’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19067 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1999. Watch Swartzville change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Swartzville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewDecorated Barn,circa 1910, U.S. Route 2…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Swartzville on the map, 1906 to 1999

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

Swartzville on the 1906 USGS mapSwartzville on the 1941 USGS mapSwartzville on the 1956 USGS mapSwartzville on the 1969 USGS mapSwartzville on the 1976 USGS mapSwartzville on the 1987 USGS mapSwartzville on the 1999 USGS map1906New Holland 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 Swartzville.

The story so far

Swartzville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Swartzville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Swartzville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in East Cocalico Township, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,283.

Its first post office opened in 1859. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,283 in 2010, 2,273 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Swartzville, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Decorated Barn,circa 1910, U.S. Route 222Date?Decorated Barn,circa 1910, U.S. Route 222
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.

Decorated Barn,circa 1910, U.S. Route 222
Retake this viewDecorated Barn,circa 1910, U.S. Route 222

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Cocalico Township2 historic placesA−Brecknock Township3 historic placesB+Adamstown1 historic placeA

Questions about Swartzville’s history

What year was Swartzville founded?

The Swartzville post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 the Library of Congress (1) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.