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History · Wilmore

Wilmore dates to 1831, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1860.

1831founded
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wilmore’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wilmore began

When was Wilmore founded?

1831

Wilmore dates its founding to 1831 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 405 in 18602020 census: 206195 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1832.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wilmore’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19025 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1994. Watch Wilmore change.Old housesHalf of Wilmore’s homes were built before 1948.Deep rootsEstablished in 1831: 195 years of Wilmore.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wilmore’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wilmore’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 photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMaryland Shaft No. 2, Headframe, East o…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Wilmore on the map, 1902 to 1994

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

Wilmore on the 1902 USGS mapWilmore on the 1963 USGS mapWilmore on the 1972 USGS mapWilmore on the 1981 USGS mapWilmore on the 1994 USGS map1902Ebensburg 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 Wilmore.

The story

How Wilmore came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wilmore.

Read it all →

In the book Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania, author William J. Switala makes reference to Wilmore being a part of the Johnstown-Wilmore-Ebensburg-Burnside route. "From Johnstown, the fugitive slaves moved northeasterly through the heavily wooded valleys and gullies of the Appalachian Mountains. The more well known of the two routes … proceeds from Johnstown all the way to Ebensburg, following the trace that eventually became US-219. Blockson mentions a stop along the route at the hamlet of Wilmore, a small black community located about eight miles south of Ebensburg and near Portage. Godfrey Wilmore, a former slave from Maryland, is reported to have founded the community."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Wilmore in 1907

Passages that mention Wilmore, cut from the printed page as they were published.

hill, and back again at the long bridge at the little town, again crossing under it at the bridge west of the deep cut east of Summerhill, and recrossing at the other side of this cut, it passed on through Jefferson, now known as Wilmore. About two. miles east of Wilmore it left the Old Portage, tu…
History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania1907 · page 358Read the page →
Read the text

hill, and back again at the long bridge at the little town, again crossing under it at the bridge west of the deep cut east of Summerhill, and recrossing at the other side of this cut, it passed on through Jefferson, now known as Wilmore. About two. miles east of Wilmore it left the Old Portage, turning to the south to pass around Plane No. 2, near Portage, and about a half mile west of Ben's Creek, it came back in the roadbed of the Old Portage and practically paralleled the Pennsylvania road to

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
journey, half a mile farther down is the dam that impounds the water for the AVilmore grist mill, now owned and operated by Sylvester Crum. A mile farther on, and about three hundred yards from Wilmore Station in a northwesterly direction, the North Branch mingles its waters in a stream of nearly e…
History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania1907 · page 223Read the page →
Read the text

journey, half a mile farther down is the dam that impounds the water for the AVilmore grist mill, now owned and operated by Sylvester Crum. A mile farther on, and about three hundred yards from Wilmore Station in a northwesterly direction, the North Branch mingles its waters in a stream of nearly equal size, forming a stream at a medium stage of about thirty yards wide.

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

Wilmore, 1831 to 1902

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1831
    FoundingWilmore is established
  3. 1832Post officeThe Wilmore post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wilmore, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Maryland Shaft No. 2, Headframe, East of State Route 160Date?Maryland Shaft No. 2, Headframe, East of State Route …Maryland Shaft No. 2, Blacksmith Shop, East of State Route 160Date?Maryland Shaft No. 2, Blacksmith Shop, East of State …
Today12 recent
Summerhill Region2016Summerhill RegionSummerhill Region - panoramio (5)2016Summerhill Region - panoramio (5)Summerhill Region - panoramio (20)2016Summerhill Region - panoramio (20)Summerhill Region - panoramio (1)2016Summerhill Region - panoramio (1)Sidman - panoramio (2)2015Sidman - panoramio (2)Route 53 senic drive - panoramio (9)2015Route 53 senic drive - panoramio (9)Route 53 senic drive - panoramio (7)2015Route 53 senic drive - panoramio (7)Main north from Church in2015Main north from Church inSummerhill2014SummerhillSummer Hill Township - panoramio (32)2014Summer Hill Township - panoramio (32)Summer Hill Township - panoramio (31)2014Summer Hill Township - panoramio (31)Summer Hill Township - panoramio (30)2014Summer Hill Township - panoramio (30)
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.

Maryland Shaft No. 2, Headframe, East of State Route 160
Retake this viewMaryland Shaft No. 2, Headframe, East of State Route 160

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Wilmore, census by census

0100200300400190019502000Peak: 438

Between 206 and 438 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Questions about Wilmore’s history

What year was Wilmore founded?

In 1831, according to Wikidata. Wilmore’s post office opened in 1832, and the census of 1860 counted 405 people here.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, 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 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.