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New gates to Kennywood (2005)Photo: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia · Public domain
BHistory
History · West Mifflin

13% of West Mifflin’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns · #648 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them the Kennywood Park, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1940.

1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From West Mifflin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About West Mifflin’s history

How historic is West Mifflin?

B

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives West Mifflin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Mifflin is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #648 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Mifflin’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194013.4% of homes (±3.0) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 0.5 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 57%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 37%

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 West Mifflin’s 0.5 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points).

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 West Mifflin’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s West Mifflin, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 28,070 in 1970; 19,589 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19045 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1993. Watch West Mifflin change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

West Mifflin had its own post office from 1964 to 1971. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lebanon Church
1866–1887
Camden
1881–1915
New England
1889–1919
Terrace
1901–1949
West Mifflin
1964–1971
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CamdenHomevilleKennywood ParkMifflin JunctionNew EnglandTerrace
18cemeteries and burying grounds inside West Mifflin
Beth JacobHoly NameHoly TrinityHomestead HebrewHungarian ReformedLebanon ChurchMifflin United Presbyterian ChurchSaint Agnes CatholicSaint Ann's Roman CatholicSaint Elias Byzantine CatholicSaint Gregory Russian OrthodoxSaint HedwigSaint JosephSaint Michael Russian NationalSaint Michael's Slovakian Roman CatholicSaint Nicholas Carpatho - Russian OrthodoxSaint Nicholas Russian OrthodoxWest

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

Help out

Start West Mifflin’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEMPLOYEE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE DEPA…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

West Mifflin, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00019401960198020002020Peak: 28,070

Peaked at 28,070 in 1970; 19,589 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

The story so far

West Mifflin, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of West Mifflin yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

West Mifflin is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, located southeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 19,589 at the 2020 census. It is named after Thomas Mifflin, the first governor of Pennsylvania and a U.S. Founding Father. Although the borough is heavily residential, it is home to one of America's oldest traditional amusement parks, Kennywood Park. Other employers include the advanced naval nuclear propulsion technology research and development facility, Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, monorail manufacturer Bombardier, US Steel's Mon Valley Works–Irvin Plant, Community College of Allegheny County's South Campus, and the Allegheny County Airport.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 20,313 to 19,589 (-4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

West Mifflin, 1866 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Lebanon Church post office opens
  3. 1881Post officeThe Camden post office opens
  4. 1887Post officeThe Lebanon Church post office closes
  5. 1889Post officeThe New England post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1915Post officeThe Camden post office closes
  9. 1919Post officeThe New England post office closes
  10. 1928Born hereDon Asmonga is born here
  11. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 28,070
  12. 1973In the archiveEMPLOYEE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES TAKES A SAMPLE O…
  13. 1987LandmarkKennywood Park named a National Historic Landmark
  14. 1994In the archiveView of concrete-encased 15" vitrified clay pipe at curry hollow. - Curry Hollow Outfall,…
By decade

West Mifflin, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1970s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s–1990s2 items
EMPLOYEE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES TAKES A SAMPLE OF WATER FROM AN OUTFALL AT... …1973EMPLOYEE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVI…View of concrete-encased 15" vitrified clay pipe at curry hollow. - Curry Hollow Outfall, Curry Hollow Road at Monongah…1994View of concrete-encased 15" vitrified clay pipe at c…
Today9 recent
West Mifflin, PA municipal building, May 20242024West Mifflin, PA municipal building, May 2024Untitled photo2022Untitled photoUntitled photo2022Untitled photoUntitled photo2022Untitled photoCCAC South Campus Nov 2015 022015CCAC South Campus Nov 2015 02CCAC South Campus Nov 2015 012015CCAC South Campus Nov 2015 01Philadelphia - Pittsburgh 052008Philadelphia - Pittsburgh 05Map of Allegheny County PA Highlighting WestMifflin2007Map of Allegheny County PA Highlighting WestMifflinMapPennsylvania State Route 8372006Pennsylvania State Route 837
On the map

West Mifflin on the map, 1904 to 1993

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

West Mifflin on the 1904 USGS mapWest Mifflin on the 1953 USGS mapWest Mifflin on the 1960 USGS mapWest Mifflin on the 1979 USGS mapWest Mifflin on the 1993 USGS map1904Pittsburgh 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 West Mifflin.

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.

EMPLOYEE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES TAKES A SAMPLE OF WATER FROM AN OUTFALL AT... …
Retake this viewEMPLOYEE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES TAKES A SAMPLE OF WATER FROM AN OUTFALL AT... …, 1973

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in West Mifflin

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
Kennywood Park
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
Kennywood Park
Kennywood Park★
Districts★ landmark
★ Landmark
Kennywood ParkDistrict

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

DravosburgIts storyC+MunhallIts storyB−DuquesneIts storyB+Pittsburgh189 historic placesA+BaldwinIts storyCGlassportIts storyB−Jefferson Hills2 historic placesBWhitakerIts storyCMcKeesport5 historic placesAPleasant HillsIts storyD

Questions about West Mifflin’s history

How does West Mifflin rank for history?

West Mifflin is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #648 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 West Mifflin?

One place: the Kennywood Park (listed 1987).

How old are the homes in West Mifflin?

13% of West Mifflin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1956.

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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.