Crawford County, Pennsylvania

History

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HISTORICAL BOROUGH BOUNDARIES
© Thomas L. Yoset

This compilation details the process by which twenty-two boroughs have been incorporated in the county.¹  The incorporation of a borough required a special act of the state legislature, until an 1851 statute (the “1851 Act”) delegated this power to the county courts of quarter sessions.²  The 1851 Act also authorized the burgess and council to alter borough boundaries, but only changes by legislative or judicial action are included here.

Unlike townships, which sprang into existence, boroughs were formed from existing towns and villages.  Their origins, including name changes, are also briefly noted.³  Maps depicting borough boundaries as shown on the 1876 county atlas will eventually (it is hoped) be added to this site.

For genealogists, incorporation means that such records as tax rolls and census returns will be found separate from the parent township, as indicated in the following chart:

¹ Incorporation was effective from the date of recording the court order in the Recorder's Office.  Since many charters were never recorded, however, the date of incorporation given in the compilation is the date of the decree.

² 1851 Pa. Laws 320 (No. 218, &3147;an act regulating boroughs,” approved 3 April 1851).  The incorporation of communities such as Jamestown which straddled county lines still required the intervention of the state legislature.

³ John L. Kay & Charles M. Smith, Jr., Pennsylvania Postal History (Lawrence, Mass., 1976), 139-44 [courtesy of William B. Moore], is the source for dates when, and names under which post offices were established.