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A−History
History · Swissvale

Swissvale’s post office opened in 1874, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #342 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Carrie Blast Furnace Number 6 and 7, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1900.

1874first post office
2on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Swissvale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Swissvale began

When was Swissvale founded?

1874

The Swissvale post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1898.

First census: 1,716 in 19002020 census: 8,624152 years

How historic is Swissvale?

A−

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Swissvale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1898.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Swissvale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Swissvale is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #342 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Swissvale’s overall grade.
Founding era1874, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194049.2% of homes (±5.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register2 listings, 4 historic buildings, 4.8 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 67%

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 Swissvale’s 4.8 sits above most of its state (67% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1898 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 Swissvale’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 16,488 in 1950; 8,624 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1993. Watch Swissvale change.Old housesHalf of Swissvale’s homes were built before 1941.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Swissvale’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAirplanes - Engines - Manufacture of 80…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Swissvale, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 16,488

Peaked at 16,488 in 1950; 8,624 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

On the map

Swissvale on the map, 1904 to 1993

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

Swissvale on the 1904 USGS mapSwissvale on the 1951 USGS mapSwissvale on the 1960 USGS mapSwissvale on the 1993 USGS map1904Pittsburgh 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 Swissvale.

The story

How Swissvale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Swissvale.

Read it all →

Swissvale is named after the Swisshelm family. John Swisshelm (1752–1838), who owned a farm where the town is located. John Swisshelm served under General George Washington in the Revolutionary War, and camped at Valley Forge. Swisshelm married Mary Elizabeth Miller, and they had many children. Their son, James Swisshelm, married Jane Grey Cannon, noted abolitionist and political activist, Jane Swisshelm named the town Swissvale as the town overlooked the Monongahela River Valley. The Pittsburgh neighborhood of Swisshelm Park, adjacent to Swissvale, is named after John Swisshelm.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Swissvale, 1874 to 2006

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Swissvale post office opens
  3. 1896Born hereAgnes Christine Johnston is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Swissvale post office closes
  6. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1917In the archiveAirplanes - Engines - Manufacture of 80 H. P. LE Rhone engine by Union Switch and Signal …
  8. 1923Born hereBob Hall is born here
  9. 1928Born hereJack George is born here
  10. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 16,488
  11. 1953Born hereMichael F. Doyle is born here
  12. 1966In the archive19660226 06 PAT PCC Streetcar, Braddock, Pennsylvania
  13. 21st century
  14. 2006LandmarkCarrie Blast Furnace Number 6 and 7 named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Swissvale, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s3 items
Airplanes - Engines - Manufacture of 80 H. P. LE Rhone engine by Union Switch and Signal Co., Swissvale, PA. Boring cyl…1917Airplanes - Engines - Manufacture of 80 H. P. LE Rhon…Airplanes - Engines - Manufacture of 80 H. P. LE Rhone engine by Union Switch and Signal Co., Swissvale, PA. Final asse…1917Airplanes - Engines - Manufacture of 80 H. P. LE Rhon…Airplanes - Engines - Manufacture of 80 H. P. LE Rhone engine by Union Switch and Signal Co., Swissvale, PA. Heavy duty…1917Airplanes - Engines - Manufacture of 80 H. P. LE Rhon…
1920s–1950snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1960s1 item
19660226 06 PAT PCC Streetcar, Braddock, Pennsylvania196619660226 06 PAT PCC Streetcar, Braddock, Pennsylvania
1970s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Brick street in2008Brick street inMap of Allegheny County PA Highlighting2007Map of Allegheny County PA HighlightingMap
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.

Airplanes - Engines - Manufacture of 80 H. P. LE Rhone engine by Union Switch and Signal Co., Swissvale, PA. Boring cyl…
Retake this viewAirplanes - Engines - Manufacture of 80 H. P. LE Rhone engine by Union Switch and Signal Co., Swissvale, PA. Boring cyl…, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Swissvale

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Carrie Blast Furnace Number 6 and 7
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Longfellow School
Longfellow SchoolCarrie Blast Furnace Number 6 and 7★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
★ Landmark
Carrie Blast Furnace Number 6 and 7District
Longfellow SchoolClassical Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Swissvale

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Michael F. DoyleAmerican politician · b. 1953
J
Jack GeorgeAmerican basketball player · b. 1928
Agnes Christine JohnstonScreenwriter · b. 1896
Bob HallAmerican baseball player · b. 1923
L
Larry CrawfordAmerican baseball player · b. 1914
M
Monte SimmonsAmerican football player · b. 1989
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Swissvale had its own post office from 1874 to 1903.

Swissvale
1874–1903
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Dickson High Schoolschool

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.

Pittsburgh189 historic placesA+Edgewood1 historic placeB+Braddock HillsIts storyB+RankinIts storyB−MunhallIts storyB−North Braddock1 historic placeB+

Questions about Swissvale’s history

What year was Swissvale founded?

The Swissvale post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1898.

How does Swissvale rank for history?

Swissvale is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #342 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 Swissvale?

Two places: the Carrie Blast Furnace Number 6 and 7 (listed 2006) and the Longfellow School (1984).

How old are the homes in Swissvale?

49% of Swissvale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1941.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.