Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: old-book passages.
The Versailles post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1894.
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Versailles is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Versailles’ 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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Versailles’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Versailles.
The borough of Versailles was incorporated on June 16, 1894. It comprised the pre-existing villages of Bissell and Elrod. An earlier incorporation in 1892 had been voided because of a defective petition.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Versailles, cut from the printed page as they were published.
July 3, 1875, by decree of court, the second precinct of South Versailles was erected into the township of Versailles. The sentiment in favor of separate municipal organization in this precinct seems to have been practically unanimous. James D. Hilands, John B. Kelly and Levi Edmundson con-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
July 3, 1875, by decree of court, the second precinct of South Versailles was erected into the township of Versailles. The sentiment in favor of separate municipal organization in this precinct seems to have been practically unanimous. James D. Hilands, John B. Kelly and Levi Edmundson con-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Germany, and a pioneer of Westmoreland county, Pa. Joseph was a native of Westmoreland county, a millwright by trade, and about 1820 settled in Versailles township, where he followed his trade for several years. In 1828 he located in McKeesport, and built the first sawmill theie, which he conducted fourteen years. He was then elected justice
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Germany, and a pioneer of Westmoreland county, Pa. Joseph was a native of Westmoreland county, a millwright by trade, and about 1820 settled in Versailles township, where he followed his trade for several years. In 1828 he located in McKeesport, and built the first sawmill there, which he conducted fourteen years. He was then elected justice
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.
Nobody well known was born in Versailles itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Versailles had its own post office from 1892 to 1896.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Versailles post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1894.
Versailles is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns. 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.
31% of Versailles’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1953.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
2024
2021
2007
