Tyrone’s post office opened in 1850, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #204 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 349 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1860.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tyrone is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #204 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 Tyrone’s overall grade.
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 Tyrone’s 651 sits above most of its state (95% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 350 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% 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 (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1851 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 Tyrone’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Tyrone, building by building, 1884–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Tyrone Borough Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
On May 30, 1893, a train carrying employees and animals belonging to the Walter L. Main Circus derailed at an embankment resulting in the deaths of five circus employees, plus many animal casualties. Many unharmed animals escaped from the wreck and were reported across the countryside for months after the wreck, most notably, a woman who escaped a Bengal tiger, but lost her cow in the attack. A memorial now stands at the site.
Passages that mention Tyrone, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the city of Altoona and Blair County1880 · page 238Read the page →
Read the text
The railroad facilities of Tyrone are second to no town of like population in the State, and the early completion of the Tyrone and Lewisburg railroad (soon to be effected) makes Tyrone in reality a railroad centre and a point which will be sought after by persons whose inclinations and means would lead them into the manufacturing business.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Tyrone, 1850 to 1973
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Tyrone post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1851.
How does Tyrone rank for history?
Tyrone is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #204 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 Tyrone?
Two places: the Tyrone Armory (listed 1989) and the Tyrone Borough Historic District (1993).
How old are the homes in Tyrone?
43% of Tyrone’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1946.
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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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