Windber dates to 1897, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #191 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 944 buildings. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1898.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Windber’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Windber is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #191 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Windber’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 Windber’s 2,446 sits above most of its state (99% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 944 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% 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 (±7.3 points). Two sources give 1897.
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 Windber’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Windber was established in 1897 as a company town for nearby coal mines in the vicinity of Johnstown. The establishment was overseen by coal barons Charles and Edward Julius Berwind, owners of the Berwind Corporation; the name "Windber" simply switches the order of the two syllables in the family name "Berwind". The Berwind-White Coal Mining Company imported workers from eastern and southern Europe and exploited ethnic divisions in the area (which had been settled by Germans and Irish in the 19th century).
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Windber. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1914Windber 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 Windber.
Every building
Windber, building by building, 1899–1916
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.
In 1897, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Windber’s post office opened in 1898, and the census of 1910 counted 8,013 people here.
How does Windber rank for history?
Windber is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #191 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 Windber?
One place: the Windber Historic District (listed 1991).
How old are the homes in Windber?
41% of Windber’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1947.
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 (15), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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