The story
Read it all →How Tobyhanna Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Tobyhanna Township.
"Tobyhanna" is derived from a Lenape word meaning "a stream whose banks are fringed with alder."
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Tobyhanna Township
Half of Tobyhanna Township’s homes were built after 1982
More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #999 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Tobyhanna Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 5 old photos and papers and maps from 1922 on.
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
1famous people
Quick answers
About Tobyhanna Township’s history
How historic is Tobyhanna Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Tobyhanna Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tobyhanna Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #999 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tobyhanna Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19406.5% of homes (±2.0) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 21%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 3%
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 Tobyhanna Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Tobyhanna Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Blakeslee
Naomipines
Pocono Lake
Pocono Pines
Preserve
Pocono Summit
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arrowhead LakeBlakesleeBlakeslee EstatesCamelot ForestEmerald LakesForest GlenLake Naomi EstatesLittle SummitLocust Lakes VillagePocono LakePocono PinesPocono SummitPreserveWagnersWagners Forest Park
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Tobyhanna Township
BlakesleeLocust RidgePocono Lake
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Tobyhanna Township on the map, 1922 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tobyhanna Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1922Stoddartsville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tobyhanna Township.
Timeline
Tobyhanna Township, 1839 to 1997
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1839
In the archiveKarl Bodmer Travels in America (4) - 1883Post officeThe Blakeslee post office opens
- 1891
In the archiveTobyhanna, Monroe Co., Pennsylvania, 1891 - 1894Post officeThe Naomipines post office opens
- 20th century
- 1901Post officeThe Pocono Lake post office opens
- 1905Post officeThe Naomipines post office closes
- 1907
In the archivePRR Belvidere Division train timetable, 1907 - 1917
In the archiveColleges and Universities - Yale University - Yale University. Battery A., Yale, at Tobyh… - 1922
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1997Born hereJacqueline Benítez is born here
By decade
Tobyhanna Township, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1830s1 item
1890s–1910s4 items
18911920s–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
2022Then & 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.
Retake this viewKarl Bodmer Travels in America (4), 1839
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Tobyhanna Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15Help out
Finish Tobyhanna 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
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Tobyhanna Township’s history
How does Tobyhanna Township rank for history?
Tobyhanna Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #999 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.
How old are the homes in Tobyhanna Township?
7% of Tobyhanna Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1982.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.