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AHistory
History · Vandergrift

Vandergrift dates to 1895, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #177 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 625 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1900.

1895founded
2on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
11famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Vandergrift’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Vandergrift began

When was Vandergrift founded?

1895

Vandergrift dates its founding to 1895 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 2,076 in 19002020 census: 5,075131 years

How historic is Vandergrift?

A

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1896.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Vandergrift’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vandergrift is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #177 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 Vandergrift’s overall grade.
Founding era1895, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194053.7% of homes (±8.1) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register2 listings, 626 historic buildings, 1,249 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 90%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 83%

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 Vandergrift’s 1,249 sits above most of its state (98% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 626 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% 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 (±8.1 points). Two sources give 1895.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Vandergrift’s past

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

A historic districtThe Vandergrift Historic District takes in 625 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Vandergrift’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 11,479 in 1930; 5,075 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19075 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1993. Watch Vandergrift change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 626 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
626
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
St. Gertrude Roman Catholic Church
St. Gertrude Roman Catholic Church, built 1903Vandergrift Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Italian Romanesque1
Late Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Romanesque1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Colonial Revival1
St. Gertrude Roman Catholic ChurchItalian Romanesque · Built 1903
Vandergrift Historic DistrictLate Victorian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Vandergrift came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Vandergrift.

Read it all →

In the 1890s the Apollo Iron and Steel Company was in a dramatic round of industrial restructuring and labor tension, ending a bitterly contested labor dispute at its Apollo, Pennsylvania, steelworks by hiring replacement workers from the surrounding countryside. To avoid future unrest, the company sought tighter control over its workers, not only at the factory, but also in their homes. Drawing upon a philosophy of reform movements in Europe and the United States, the company's leader, George McMurtry, adopted what was later known as welfare capitalism, with the company going beyond paychecks to provide for the social needs of the workers, and providing a benign physical environment and good housing, to make for happier and more productive workers. Wanting a loyal workforce, McMurtry developed a town agenda that drew upon environmentalism as well as popular attitudes toward capital's t…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Vandergrift, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 11,479

Peaked at 11,479 in 1930; 5,075 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Timeline

Vandergrift, 1895 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1895
    FoundingVandergrift is established
  3. 1895In the archiveVandergrift, Pennsylvania, July, 1895
  4. 1896Post officeThe Vandergrift post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902Post officeThe Vandergrift Heights post office opens
  7. 1903BuiltSt. Gertrude Roman Catholic Church is built
  8. 1903Born hereJames E. Willard is born here
  9. 1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1919Post officeThe Vandergrift Heights post office closes
  11. 1922Born hereJames Veneris is born here
  12. 1927Born hereWilliam Perry is born here
  13. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 11,479
  14. 1997Born hereJaira Burns is born here
By decade

Vandergrift, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s2 items
Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, July, 18951895Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, July, 1895Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, May, 18961895Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, May, 1896
1900s–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
Date unknown3 to date
Vandergrift Railroad Station, 77 Washington AvenueDate?Vandergrift Railroad Station, 77 Washington AvenueApollo Iron & Steel Works, West of Washington & Lincoln AvenuesDate?Apollo Iron & Steel Works, West of Washington & Linco…Apollo Iron & Steel Works, Company Housing, West of Washington & Lincoln AvenuesDate?Apollo Iron & Steel Works, Company Housing, West of W…
Today9 recent
Vandergrift, PA aerial shot 032024Vandergrift, PA aerial shot 03Vandergrift, PA aerial shot 022024Vandergrift, PA aerial shot 02St. Gertrude's Catholic Church2014St. Gertrude's Catholic ChurchVandergrift, Pennsylvania2010Vandergrift, PennsylvaniaVandergrift, Pennsylvania2010Vandergrift, PennsylvaniaVandergrift, Pennsylvania2010Vandergrift, PennsylvaniaVandergrift, Pennsylvania2010Vandergrift, PennsylvaniaVandergrift, Pennsylvania2010Vandergrift, PennsylvaniaVandergrift, Pennsylvania2010Vandergrift, Pennsylvania
On the map

Vandergrift on the map, 1907 to 1993

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

Vandergrift on the 1907 USGS mapVandergrift on the 1953 USGS mapVandergrift on the 1969 USGS mapVandergrift on the 1979 USGS mapVandergrift on the 1993 USGS map1907Freeport 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 Vandergrift.

Every building

Vandergrift, building by building, 1899–1915

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.

Vandergrift fire insurance map, 1899, sheet 11899Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, July, 1895
Retake this viewVandergrift, Pennsylvania, July, 1895, 1895

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

11 famous people were born in Vandergrift

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
William PerryAmerican mathematician and businessman, former … · b. 1927
Jaira BurnsAmerican singer · b. 1997
J
James E. WillardAmerican politician · b. 1903
J
James VenerisAmerican defector to China · b. 1922
J
Joseph Petrarca, Jr.American politician · b. 1961
J
Joseph PrestonAmerican politician from Pennsylvania · b. 1947
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Vandergrift’s post office has been open since 1896. Another post office, Vandergrift Heights, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Vandergrift
1896–today
Vandergrift Heights
1902–1919
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Vandergrift HeightsWest Vandergrift

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

Help out

Start Vandergrift’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewVandergrift, Pennsylvania, July, 1895: 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.

Allegheny TownshipIts storyC−Parks TownshipIts storyBPleasant ViewIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorth VandergriftIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast VandergriftIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorth ApolloIts storyC+Kiskiminetas TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Vandergrift’s history

What year was Vandergrift founded?

In 1895, according to Wikidata. Vandergrift’s post office opened in 1896, and the census of 1900 counted 2,076 people here.

How does Vandergrift rank for history?

Vandergrift is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #177 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 Vandergrift?

Two places: the St. Gertrude Roman Catholic Church (listed 1983) and the Vandergrift Historic District (1995).

How old are the homes in Vandergrift?

54% of Vandergrift’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (3), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.