Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1833.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Akron’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Akron is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #336 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Akron’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Akron’s 6.9 sits near the middle of its state (40% of New York towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). Two sources give 1829.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Akron’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
The village was developed after land was purchased from local Native Americans. The site of the village was first settled circa 1829, centered on Akron Falls, which provided water power. Akron became an incorporated village in 1849. The village absorbed the community of Fallkirk in its growth. In 1880, the population of Akron was about 1,050. It was then an important cement-producing center, due to local deposits of gypsum. Besides production of cement, the village also produced cigars.
Passages that mention Akron, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the original town of Concord1883 · page 937Read the page →
Read the text
devoted himself mainl}' to the duties of his profession. He is also largely interested in business enterprises, holding the office of President of the Buffalo, New York & Erie railroad company, and is President and General Manager of the Akron Cement works, located at Akron in this count}', one of the oldest and largest cement works in this part of the State.
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.
By decade
Akron, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
In 1829, according to Wikidata. Akron’s post office opened in 1833, and the census of 1860 counted 462 people here.
How does Akron rank for history?
Akron is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #336 of 758 in New York. 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 Akron?
41% of Akron’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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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