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B−History
History · Yeadon

Yeadon’s post office opened in 1891, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #791 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1900.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Yeadon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Yeadon began

When was Yeadon founded?

1891

The Yeadon post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1893. Another post office, Fernwood (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 689 in 19002020 census: 12,054135 years

How historic is Yeadon?

B−

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Yeadon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1893.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Yeadon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Yeadon is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #791 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Yeadon’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194027.1% of homes (±6.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 24%

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 Yeadon’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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1893 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Yeadon’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18944 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1994. Watch Yeadon change.Old housesHalf of Yeadon’s homes were built before 1951.Famous sons and daughtersDaniel Barrow, Marianne Stanley and 6 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Yeadon’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Yeadon on the map, 1894 to 1994

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

Yeadon on the 1894 USGS mapYeadon on the 1967 USGS mapYeadon on the 1973 USGS mapYeadon on the 1994 USGS map1894Chester 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 Yeadon.

The story

How Yeadon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Yeadon.

Read it all →

Yeadon and its surrounding land were once part of New Sweden. Yeadon was then known as the Swedish settlement of Mölndal (founded in 1645). The borough of Yeadon took its name from Yeadon Manor, which takes its name from Yeadon, West Yorkshire, in England.

In the years following World War II, Yeadon became home to a large middle-class African American community. In 1959, the borough's Nile Swim Club became the first swim club owned and operated by African Americans in the United States.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Yeadon, 1872 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Fernwood post office opens
  3. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Delaware County - Yeadon - ED 23-2…
  4. 1891Post officeThe Yeadon post office opens
  5. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1909Born hereDaniel Barrow is born here
  8. 1919In the archiveSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, 19…
  9. 1920Post officeThe Yeadon post office closes
  10. 1924Born hereDick Boccelli is born here
  11. 1932Post officeThe Fernwood post office closes
  12. 1954Born hereMarianne Stanley is born here
  13. 1970Born hereGreg Campbell is born here
By decade

Yeadon, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s4 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Delaware County - Yeadon - ED 23-230, ED 23-231, ED 23-232, ED 2…18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, 1919, Plate 01081919Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delawar…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, 1919, Plate 01091919Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delawar…MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, 1919, Plate 01101919Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Delaware Co., Delawar…Map
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
Yeadon, PA post office, Aug. 20252025Yeadon, PA post office, Aug. 2025Yeadon Public Library PA2017Yeadon Public Library PAHouse in2015House inDowntown2015DowntownYeadon Borough Municipal Building 20142014Yeadon Borough Municipal Building 2014Black History Voting Rally September 20142014Black History Voting Rally September 2014Untitled photo2011Untitled photoYeadon, Delaware County, Pennsylvania2007Yeadon, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Delaware County - Yeadon - ED 23-230, ED 23-231, ED 23-232, ED 2…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Delaware County - Yeadon - ED 23-230, ED 23-231, ED 23-232, ED 2…, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Yeadon, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 12,136

Between 689 and 12,136 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Yeadon

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
D
Daniel BarrowAmerican rower · b. 1909
Marianne StanleyAmerican Hall of Fame basketball coach · b. 1954
G
Greg CampbellAmerican journalist · b. 1970
D
Dick BoccelliAmerican musician · b. 1924
E
Edward YatesAmerican television director · b. 1918
Glenn RobinsonAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1944
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Yeadon had its own post office from 1891 to 1920. Another post office, Fernwood, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fernwood
1872–1932
Yeadon
1891–1920
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CardingtonFernwood
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Yeadon
GracelandHoly CrossMount Moriah

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.

Philadelphia615 historic placesA+Darby1 historic placeAUpper Darby Township3 historic placesALansdowne4 historic placesA

Questions about Yeadon’s history

What year was Yeadon founded?

The Yeadon post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1893.

How does Yeadon rank for history?

Yeadon is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #791 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 Yeadon?

27% of Yeadon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1951.

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 (12), 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) 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.