The story
Read it all →How Chautauqua came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Chautauqua.
Chautauqua was founded in 1881, and it was incorporated in 1882.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Chautauqua
Chautauqua’s post office opened in 1881, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1910.
1881first post office
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Chautauqua began
When was Chautauqua founded?
1881
The Chautauqua post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 348 in 19102020 census: 108145 years
Founding year: the first Chautauqua post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Chautauqua’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Chautauqua are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18854 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1985. Watch Chautauqua change.Boom and bustPeaked at 401 in 1920; 108 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Chautauqua’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Chautauqua’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chautauqua’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Chautauqua on the map, 1885 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chautauqua. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1885Sedan sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chautauqua.
People over time
Chautauqua, census by census
Peaked at 401 in 1920; 108 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chautauqua’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Chautauqua, 1881 to 1920
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1881Post officeThe Chautauqua post office opens
- 1885
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 401
By decade
Chautauqua, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2005Questions about Chautauqua’s history
What year was Chautauqua founded?
The Chautauqua post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.