Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1947 on and old-book passages.
The Ontario post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ontario’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Ontario.
Ontario was laid out in 1837. The community took its name from Lake Ontario. A post office opened at Ontario in 1846, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1943.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Ontario, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The town of Canadice is the southwest corner town of Ontario county and is township No. 8 of the 5th range of townships of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase ; with a triangular piece from No. 8 of the 6th range lying east of Hemlock lake added to its west side next to the north line, less the strip about a mile wide east of Honeoye lake and its inlet, taken from this town and added to the town of Richmond. Honeoye lake lies on its eastern boundary | for half its length and Hemlock lake bounds seven-eights of its
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Canandaigua, the shire town of Ontario county, as originally laid out, comprised about seventy-two square miles, being the socalled town lots Nos. 9 and 10 in the Third range. No. 10 was one of the two lots which were particularly reserved by Phelps and Gorham in their sale to Mr. Morris in 1790, the other reserved lot being on the Genesee river. In 1824 all that part of lot No. 9 lyingeast of the lake was annexed to Gorham.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ontario. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ontario.
The Ontario post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
