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History · Thompson

Thompson’s post office opened in 1836, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1932 on, and the census since 1880.

1836first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Thompson began

When was Thompson founded?

1836

The Thompson post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1876.

First census: 249 in 18802020 census: 254190 years
Founding year: the first Thompson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1876.The full story ↓

What stands out about Thompson’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.Old housesHalf of Thompson’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 339 in 1940; 254 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1836: 190 years of Thompson.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Thompson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Thompson’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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Thompson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Thompson.

Read it all →

Thompson Borough was incorporated on August 15, 1876 from part of Thompson Township. Both were named after Susquehanna County associate judge William Thompson.

The Spencer Milling Company gristmill was built on Jackson Street by G. Fenton Spencer in 1870.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Thompson, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 339

Peaked at 339 in 1940; 254 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Thompson, 1836 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836Post officeThe Thompson post office opens
  3. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Susquehanna County - Thompson - ED…
  4. 20th century
  5. 1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 339
By decade

Thompson, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Susquehanna County - Thompson - ED 58-46, ED 58-4718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …
1890s–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
Today5 recent
Thompson Christian Church, Thompson Borough, PA, April 20252025Thompson Christian Church, Thompson Borough, PA, Apri…Thompson Borough, PA Cemetery, April 20252025Thompson Borough, PA Cemetery, April 2025Thompson Baptist Church, Thompson Borough, PA, April 20252025Thompson Baptist Church, Thompson Borough, PA, April …Thompson United Methodist Church2022Thompson United Methodist ChurchUSPO Thompson PA 18465-99982015USPO Thompson PA 18465-9998
On the map

Thompson on the map, 1932 to 1994

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

Thompson on the 1932 USGS mapThompson on the 1968 USGS mapThompson on the 1978 USGS mapThompson on the 1994 USGS map1932Susquehanna 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 Thompson.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Susquehanna County - Thompson - ED 58-46, ED 58-47
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Susquehanna County - Thompson - ED 58-46, ED 58-47, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Thompson

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

See all →
B.F. SkinnerAmerican behaviorist · b. 1904
Pat O'MalleyAmerican stage and film actor · b. 1890
Charles PickeringAmerican anthropologist, botanist, and physician · b. 1805
Clarissa Tucker TracyAmerican botanist · b. 1818
Bert LordAmerican politician · b. 1869
Jedediah HotchkissConfederate Army officer cartographer, and topo… · b. 1828

Questions about Thompson’s history

What year was Thompson founded?

The Thompson post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1876.

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) 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.