Laughlintown, Pennsylvania
unincorporated community in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Laughlintown is an unincorporated community that is located in Ligonier Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 30, 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Ligonier.
The town is named after a person named Robert Laughlin.
History and demographics
Laughlintown has a post office with ZIP code 15655, which opened on May 16, 1825.
It presently has a population of roughly 332, according to the most recent U.S. census, which was completed in 2020.
Notable features
The Compass Inn, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located in Laughlintown, as are the Rolling Rock Club and The Washington Furnace Inn.
The public source identifies “Laughlintown, Pennsylvania” as unincorporated community in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Laughlintown, Pennsylvania and unincorporated.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Laughlintown, Pennsylvania”, the useful work is to connect “unincorporated community in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15241840. Authority coordinates are 40.212, -79.198. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1825 and 2020.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Laughlintown, Pennsylvania”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Laughlintown, Pennsylvania primary sources, Laughlintown, Pennsylvania archive and Laughlintown research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Laughlintown, Pennsylvania”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Laughlintown, Pennsylvania” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.