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History · Yatesville

Yatesville dates to 1809, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1880.

1809founded
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Yatesville began

When was Yatesville founded?

1809

Yatesville dates its founding to 1809 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 415 in 18802020 census: 638217 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1880.The full story ↓

What stands out about Yatesville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Yatesville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1994. Watch Yatesville change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1809: 217 years of Yatesville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Yatesville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Yatesville on the map, 1893 to 1994

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

Yatesville on the 1893 USGS mapYatesville on the 1947 USGS mapYatesville on the 1969 USGS mapYatesville on the 1976 USGS mapYatesville on the 1994 USGS map1893Pittston 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 Yatesville.

Timeline

Yatesville, 1809 to 1908

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1809
    FoundingYatesville is established
  3. 1880Post officeThe Yates post office opens
  4. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1908Post officeThe Yates post office closes
The story

How Yatesville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Yatesville.

Read it all →

In 1809, Joel Hale built the first frame house in what is now known as Yatesville. Mr. Hale owned most of the borough site. The settlement grew slowly as an agricultural and early industrial pocket within Jenkins Township. It was officially named after Francis Yates, an English immigrant who purchased 90 acres of local land in 1817 and settled into a log cabin with his family.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Yatesville in 1893

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

Joel Hale, in 1809, built the first frame house in Yatesville, occupied by John Monk. Mr. Hale owned most of the borough site. The settlers following Mr. Hale were H. Fredrick, George Day, David Reese, James Cooper, Isaac and George Naphus, Joseph and John Stout and James Thompson. These came in 18…
History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections1893 · page 666Read the page →
Read the text

Joel Hale, in 1809, built the first frame house in Yatesville, occupied by John Monk. Mr. Hale owned most of the borough site. The settlers following Mr. Hale were H. Fredrick, George Day, David Reese, James Cooper, Isaac and George Naphus, Joseph and John Stout and James Thompson. These came in 1809 or 1810. William D. Hale built the first tavern in the place on the corner of Main and Stout streets, in 1 859, afterward kept by John H. Monk. The first store was opened in 1855. A schoolhouse was built in 1851. From 1812 to 1825 the added families were, John and Isaiah Hale, John Yates, Asa and Morris Naphus and Francis

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.

By decade

Yatesville, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Yatesville municipal buiding front (2), Sept. 20232023Yatesville municipal buiding front (2), Sept. 2023Yatesville municipal buiding front (1), Sept. 20232023Yatesville municipal buiding front (1), Sept. 2023Yatesville municipal buiding and park, Sept. 20232023Yatesville municipal buiding and park, Sept. 2023Pittston Area High School front, Sept. 20232023Pittston Area High School front, Sept. 2023Park2016Park
People over time

Yatesville, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 768

Between 407 and 768 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Yatesville

Nobody well known was born in Yatesville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
William Daniel PhillipsPhysics Nobel laureate · b. 1948
Joseph L. MankiewiczAmerican film director, screenwriter, and produ… · b. 1909
Edward B. LewisAmerican biologist · b. 1918
D
David BohmAmerican theoretical physicist · b. 1917
M
Mary McDonnellAmerican actress · b. 1952
Florence Foster JenkinsAmerican soprano, renowned for her lack of musi… · b. 1868
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Another post office, Yates, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Yatesville Lower TunneltunnelYatesville Upper Tunneltunnel

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Jenkins TownshipIts storyB−BrowntownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPittston TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Yatesville’s history

What year was Yatesville founded?

In 1809, according to Wikidata. Yatesville’s post office opened in 1880, and the census of 1880 counted 415 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (5), 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.