On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wind Gap is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #305 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wind Gap’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 Wind Gap’s 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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1740.
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 (±9.4 points).
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 Wind Gap’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wind Gap yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Wind Gap (Pennsylvania Dutch: Gratdaal) is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population of Wind Gap was 2,820 at the 2020 census. Wind Gap is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.
Wind Gap was established in 1740. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,720 to 2,820 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Wind Gap in 1920
Passages that mention Wind Gap, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh under supervision and revision of William J. Heller, assisted by an advisory board of editors..1920 · page 527Read the page →
Read the text
Near to the former location of the Friedensthal Economy, on the main road from Easton to the Wind Gap, six miles from the former place, is the borough of Stockertown, laid out by Andrew Stocker, from whom it received its name. The village in 1871 contained two hotels, two dry-goods and grocery stores, two saddler}' and harness shops, one tin shop, two wheelwright and blacksmith shops, one grist mill, one tannery, one schoolhouse and about twent}- dwellings. It was incorporated as a borough by a decree of court, December 17, 1900. The borough, which was originally a part of Forks,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh under supervision and revision of William J. Heller, assisted by an advisory board of editors..1920 · page 505Read the page →
Read the text
families. Roads from Nazareth to the river were laid out before 1750, but the first local roads were laid out and worked about 1802, one running through Ackcrman.sville to Fox Gap, and two years later one from Henry's Mill and Wind Gap to Williamsburg. A log mill was built at .Xckermansville in 1788, which was soon afterwards followed by the erection of other mills. The first post-ofifice was established in 1804 at Richmond, which is located in the southeastern corner of the township. This is a small hamlet, situated at a cross-roads, containing a hotel, general store, church, grist mill,
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.
In 1740, according to Wikidata. Wind Gap’s post office opened in 1889, and the census of 1900 counted 711 people here.
How does Wind Gap rank for history?
Wind Gap is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #305 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.
How old are the homes in Wind Gap?
32% of Wind Gap’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (9), the Library of Congress (1), 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.
Date?
Date?
2026
2023
2023
2022
2022
2014
2013
2010
