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History · Tionesta Township

Tionesta Township dates to 1805, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1922 on, and the census since 1870.

1805founded
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Tionesta Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Tionesta Township began

When was Tionesta Township founded?

1805

Tionesta Township dates its founding to 1805 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 320 in 18702020 census: 668221 years
Founding year: Wikidata.

What stands out about Tionesta Township’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 845 in 1940; 428 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19224 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1973. Watch Tionesta Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1805: 221 years of Tionesta Township.
★ What stands out · People over time

Tionesta Township, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 845

Peaked at 845 in 1940; 428 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

On the map

Tionesta Township on the map, 1922 to 1973

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

Tionesta Township on the 1922 USGS mapTionesta Township on the 1946 USGS mapTionesta Township on the 1967 USGS mapTionesta Township on the 1973 USGS map1922Tionesta 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 Tionesta Township.

Timeline

Tionesta Township, 1805 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1805
    FoundingTionesta Township is established
  3. 1896In the archiveTionesta, Forest County, Pa. 1896
  4. 20th century
  5. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1930In the archiveOverlooking Tionesta Dam from Route 66, Tionesta, Pa (79651)
  7. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 845
The story so far

Tionesta Township, in brief

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

Tionesta is a borough in and the county seat of Forest County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 475 at the 2020 Census.

Tionesta Township was established in 1805. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 729 to 668 (-8%).

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

By decade

Tionesta Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s2 items
Tionesta, Forest County, Pa. 18961896Tionesta, Forest County, Pa. 1896Tionesta, Forest County, Pa. 18961896Tionesta, Forest County, Pa. 1896
1900s–1920snothing 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
1930s4 items
Overlooking Tionesta Dam from Route 66, Tionesta, Pa (79651)c. 1930Overlooking Tionesta Dam from Route 66, Tionesta, Pa …Tionesta Dam looking east, from Spillway, Tionesta, Pa (79652)c. 1930Tionesta Dam looking east, from Spillway, Tionesta, P…Tionesta Dam, Control Tower entrance, Tionesta, Pa (79649)c. 1930Tionesta Dam, Control Tower entrance, Tionesta, Pa (7…Tionesta Dam, Control Tower, Tionesta, Pa (79650)c. 1930Tionesta Dam, Control Tower, Tionesta, Pa (79650)
1940s–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
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.

Tionesta, Forest County, Pa. 1896
Retake this viewTionesta, Forest County, Pa. 1896, 1896

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
HunterJamison
Gone or out of use
Blocher SchoolschoolOldtown SchoolschoolPigeon Hill ChurchschoolPigeon Hill Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Tionesta Township
HolemanMount CollinsMount Zion Community

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Tionesta Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTionesta, Forest County, Pa. 1896: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Washington TownshipIts storyB−Harmony TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreen TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPresident Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHickory Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Tionesta Township’s history

What year was Tionesta Township founded?

In 1805, according to Wikidata. the census of 1870 counted 320 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 (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.