Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #293 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1860.
The Syracuse post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Syracuse is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #293 of 593 in Indiana. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Syracuse’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
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 Syracuse’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
From Wikipedia’s history of Syracuse.
Old State Syracuse was laid out in 1837. It was likely named after the city of Syracuse, New York. The Syracuse post office was established in 1837.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Syracuse, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In submission to the wonderful changes produced in Onondaga county by the opening of the canal and the springing into existence of the Village of Syracuse, (incorporated in 1825,) and subsequent removal from the Hill of the county seat, Mr. Redtield transferred his newspaper to Syracuse and consolidated it with the Syracuse Gazelk, begun in 1323 by John Durnford. 1 he journal now bore the name of the Onmuingn Kcgisler and Syrncuse Gazelle and for its accommodation Mr. Redlield erected a four-story building on the site of the present Onondaga County Savings Bank, where he ahso carried on a book store.. The condition of his health obliged him to dispose of his newspaper property in 1S32, but he continued the book business twelve years longer, when he retired with a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Public Institutions. 593 As early as iSzi the subject of water works in the village had been broiight before tlie Legislature. The first act, entitled " An Act to supply the village of Syracuse with wholesome water," was passed March 27, 1821. ',1 granted the people of Syracuse the right to use sutTicieiit water for supj)lying the village from any of the springs on adjacent lands belonging to the State, and provided for the election of three trustees, at an election to be held at the house of Sterling Cossitt, innkeeper in said village, on the first
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Syracuse. 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 Syracuse.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1905Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Grew from 182 people in 1860 to 3,079 in 2020, more than tenfold.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Syracuse’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Syracuse’s post office has been open since 1837.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Syracuse post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Syracuse is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #293 of 593 in Indiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
31% of Syracuse’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1957.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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