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Pennsylvania Route 44 north in TurbotvillePhoto: Jakec · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Turbotville

Turbotville’s post office opened in 1829, and 61% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1924 on and the census since 1860.

1829first post office
0on the National Register
61%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jakec · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Turbotville began

When was Turbotville founded?

1829

The Turbotville post office opened in 1829, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1850. Another post office, Warrior Run (1837), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 380 in 18602020 census: 677197 years
Founding year: the first Turbotville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1850.The full story ↓

What stands out about Turbotville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Turbotville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Turbotville’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsA post office since 1829: 197 years of Turbotville.On the map since 19245 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1998. Watch Turbotville change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Turbotville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Turbotville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Turbotville.

Read it all →

The greater part of the site of the borough was once owned by Jacob Sechler and wife Catherine, who had received a land grant from Governor Thomas Penn, son of William Penn. Sechler named his land "Green Lawn"; it included the area of present-day Main Street, Church Street, and the Turbotville Cemetery, and extended into present-day Lewis Township.

The settlement was originally called Snydertown, after Philip Reifsnyder, believed to be one of the first European-American settlers of the area. Reifsnyder, a blacksmith by trade, built a tavern southwest of the intersection of Main and Paradise streets; it was operated by his wife. He also operated a blacksmith shop southeast of the intersection of Main and Church streets.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Turbotville, 1829 to 1924

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1829Post officeThe Turbotville post office opens
  3. 1837Post officeThe Warrior Run post office opens
  4. 1845Post officeThe Warrior Run post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Turbotville, decade by decade

Today15 recent
Turbotville, PA post office, Aug. 20242024Turbotville, PA post office, Aug. 2024Turbotville, PA Keystone Marker on PA 44, Nov. 20122012Turbotville, PA Keystone Marker on PA 44, Nov. 2012Turbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, PennsylvaniaTurbotville, Pennsylvania2011Turbotville, Pennsylvania
On the map

Turbotville on the map, 1924 to 1998

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

Turbotville on the 1924 USGS mapTurbotville on the 1953 USGS mapTurbotville on the 1965 USGS mapTurbotville on the 1973 USGS mapTurbotville on the 1998 USGS map1924Milton 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 Turbotville.

People over time

Turbotville, census by census

0100200300400500600700190019502000Peak: 705

Between 365 and 705 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Turbotville’s post office has been open since 1829. Another post office, Warrior Run, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Turbotville
1829–today
Warrior Run
1837–1845
18201920today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Turbotville’s history

What year was Turbotville founded?

The Turbotville post office opened in 1829, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1850.

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 (15), 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.