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History · Donegal

Donegal’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold just one old photo of Donegal. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1796established
1old images & papers
7recent photos
Monticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31... 300 yards west from Penn. Turnpike Interchange... Donegal, Pennsylvania (87210), c. 1930 · Wikimedia Commons

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

There are also three Donegal Townships in Pennsylvania. Donegal is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a distinct municipality from the adjacent Donegal Township. The population was 103 at the 2020 census. Donegal is best known as an exit on the Pennsylvania Turnpike with restaurants, gas stations, and two hotels for travelers. It was named after the town and county of Donegal in Ireland.

Donegal was established in 1796. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 120 to 102 (-15%). Half of its homes were built before 1952.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Donegal yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1796Established
c. 1930Monticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31... 300 yards we…Commons
1940–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Be one of the first

Start Donegal’s collection

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

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewMonticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31..…, c. 1930: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Donegal

See all 2 →
A. Milton MusserA. Milton MusserFaithJohn Cox HuppJohn Cox HuppScience & Medicine
By decade

Donegal, decade by decade

1930s1 item
Monticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31... 300 yards west from Penn. Turnpike Interchange... Donegal, Pennsylvania (87210)CommonsMonticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31... 300 yards west from Penn…c. 1930
1940s–
1990s
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
Today7 photos
Chestnut RidgeCommonsChestnut Ridge2026PA 31 eb entering Donegal, May 2024CommonsPA 31 eb entering Donegal, May 20242024Sunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (98)CommonsSunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (98)2015Sunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (97)CommonsSunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (97)2015Sunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (100)CommonsSunday Drive in the Laurel Mountains - panoramio (100)2015Donegal Turnpike InterchangeCommonsDonegal Turnpike Interchange2015Main StreetCommonsMain Street2009
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Donegal is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Donegal has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Mount Vernon Furnace in Bullskin, 6.9 miles away.

Donegal and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Donegal. Tap a dot.
Mount Vernon FurnaceKooser State Park Family Cabin DistrictMount Pleasant Historic DistrictSamuel Warden HouseLinn Run State Park Family Cabin DistrictPeter and Jonathan Newmyer Farm

Closest to Donegal

Mount Vernon FurnaceBullskin · Structure6.9miKooser State Park Family Cabin DistrictJefferson · District8.6miMount Pleasant Historic DistrictMount Pleasant · District9miSamuel Warden HouseMount Pleasant · Building9.1miLinn Run State Park Family Cabin DistrictCook · District9.2mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Mount Vernon Furnace’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Donegal?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Donegal’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Monticue Motel, U.S. Highway 31... 300 yards west from Penn. Turnpike Interchange... Donegal, Pennsylvania (87210) (c. 1930) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Donegal📜 Saltlick📜 Cook📜 Mount Pleasant

From Wikimedia Commons (8). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

We left the porch light on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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