McKean’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of McKean. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusMcKean is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania. The population was 475 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Erie–Meadville combined statistical area. McKean was known as "Middleboro" until it officially changed its name in 1970.
McKean was established in 1795. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 388 to 476 (+23%). Half of its homes were built before 1971.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of McKean 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 belowStart McKean’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McKean’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewThe Great Kinzua Bridge near Alto…, 1880: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10McKean, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in McKean is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean McKean has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Manchester School No. 3 in McKean, 2.5 miles away.
McKean and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as The Great Kinzua Bridge near Alton, Pa. Highest bridge in the world (1880) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (4) and the Library of Congress (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.