Most of Utica was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Utica post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Utica’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Utica is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Utica’s overall grade.
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 Utica’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Utica’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
From 1794 to 1825, Utica served as a key ferry crossing of the Ohio River. Its location provided a safer alternative to the river crossings at Jeffersonville, where the nearby Falls of the Ohio presented navigational hazards.
James Noble Wood was the first ferryman and founder of Utica. In 1801 he was appointed by Governor W. H. Harrison as one of the justices of the court of general quarter of Clarke of the Territory of Indiana at Springville, Indiana.
It audits all claims against the town of Utica, such as the payment of election officers and poor expenses. For all purposes except those provided for in the charter, the city of Utica is regarded as one of the towns of Oneida County.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In August 1802, Benajah Merrell advertises that he “ has commenced business in the public line as an auctioneer, and will regularly attend said business on Saturday of every week in the village of Utica.” At this time and for several years previous he was living in New Hartford, but, having failed there, he tries his fortune in Utica. In the course of 1803-6 we find him announcing three or four different auction sales, but in 1807, after having served as deputy sheriff, he is made
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
lowing for the building of a bridge across the Mohawk at Schenectada, and also for completing ten miles of turnpike road, or any part of the said ten miles, beginning at the bridge at the village of Utica and running easterly, as well as for completing other portions of the road towards its eastern end. As the result of the efforts of this company a beneficial change was effected. The portion of the road lying between Utica and Deerfield was straightened, it having before been a devious way that
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.
Timeline
Utica, 1817 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Utica post office opened in 1817, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Utica rank for history?
Utica is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Utica?
9% of Utica’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 2002.
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, 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 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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