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A−History
History · Alexander

Alexander dates to 1812, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Alexander Classical School. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1820.

1812founded
1on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Alexander’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Alexander began

When was Alexander founded?

1812

Alexander dates its founding to 1812 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 1,496 in 18202020 census: 2,491214 years

How historic is Alexander?

A−

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1820.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Alexander’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alexander is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns. 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 Alexander’s overall grade.
Founding era1812, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194037.4% of homes (±11.0) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 3.9 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
NewerOlder

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 Alexander’s 3.9 sits below most of its state (31% of New York towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±11.0 points). Two sources give 1812.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Alexander’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Alexander, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19053 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1951. Watch Alexander change.Old housesHalf of Alexander’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alexander’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alexander’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewUnion infantry firing: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Alexander’s post office has been open since 1820. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Alexander
1820–today
Brookville
1826–1857
Ray
1891–1903
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BrookvilleEast AlexanderNorth AlexanderRayWest Bank Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Alexander Classical SchoolschoolBatavia Pitmine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Alexander
AlexanderMount Pleasant

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Alexander on the map, 1905 to 1951

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Alexander. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Alexander on the 1905 USGS mapAlexander on the 1949 USGS mapAlexander on the 1951 USGS map1905Attica sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Alexander.

The story

How Alexander came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alexander.

Read it all →

Alexander Rea purchased 28.1 acres (11.4 ha) in the town in 1802 for $56.20 and founded the village of Alexander. The next year he laid out a road, now Walnut Street and Route 98, north of the settlement. The town of Alexander was incorporated in 1812, from a part of the town of Batavia.

The town includes the Alexander Classical School, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Alexander, 1841–1897

Passages that mention Alexander, cut from the printed page as they were published.

59 seq. (Not to be confounded with that Fort Alexandria which was named for Sir Alexander McKenzie, because built on the spot where he began his retreat June 23d, 1793 ; nor with Fort Alexander, au Bas de la Riviere.)
New light on the early history of the greater Northwest. The manuscript journals of Alexander Henry ... and of David Thompson ... 1799-1814. Exploration and adventure among the Indians on the Red, Saskatchewan, Missouri and Columbia rivers1897 · page 213Read the page →
Read the text

59 seq. (Not to be confounded with that Fort Alexandria which was named for Sir Alexander McKenzie, because built on the spot where he began his retreat June 23d, 1793 ; nor with Fort Alexander, au Bas de la Riviere.)

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Alexander of Macedon, when quite a boj, tamed, by his skilful management and gentle usage, a wild, fiery horse, which neither his father nor any one else could subject to the bridle. But Alexander of Largo, was himself wild and fiery in his nature, and had not learned to restrain the violence of hi…
The story of Alexander Selkirk1841 · page 14Read the page →
Read the text

Alexander of Macedon, when quite a boj, tamed, by his skilful management and gentle usage, a wild, fiery horse, which neither his father nor any one else could subject to the bridle. But Alexander of Largo, was himself wild and fiery in his nature, and had not learned to restrain the violence of his own passions.

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

Alexander, 1812 to 1920

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1812
    FoundingAlexander is established
  3. 1820Post officeThe Alexander post office opens
  4. 1826Post officeThe Brookville post office opens
  5. 1835Born hereHorace E. Houghton is born here
  6. 1837BuiltAlexander Classical School is built
  7. 1837Born hereAllen Manvel is born here
  8. 1840Born hereAda E. North is born here
  9. 1857Post officeThe Brookville post office closes
  10. 1891Post officeThe Ray post office opens
  11. 20th century
  12. 1903Post officeThe Ray post office closes
  13. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1920Born hereAl Keller is born here
By decade

Alexander, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Union infantry firingDate?Union infantry firing
Today4 recent
US20 West - Hills Near2018US20 West - Hills NearCase 1200 9-11-10 WNY GAS & STEAM ENGINE SHOW2010Case 1200 9-11-10 WNY GAS & STEAM ENGINE SHOWAlexander Classical School2010Alexander Classical SchoolReenactor confederates in camp2005Reenactor confederates in camp
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Union infantry firing
Retake this viewUnion infantry firing

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Alexander’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Alexander

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Alexander Classical School
Alexander Classical School, built 1837
Buildings
Alexander Classical SchoolBuilt 1837

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Alexander, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001850190019502000Peak: 2,534

Between 1,287 and 2,534 people in every census since 1820.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Alexander’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Alexander

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
A
Al KellerRacecar driver · b. 1920
H
Horace E. HoughtonAmerican politician · b. 1835
Ada E. NorthFirst female State Librarian in the US · b. 1840
Allen ManvelAmerican businessman · b. 1837
S
Spin RoyAmerican football player · b. 1896
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Attica4 historic placesA+DarienIts storyB+BethanyIts storyB+BataviaIts storyB−

Questions about Alexander’s history

What year was Alexander founded?

In 1812, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Alexander’s post office opened in 1820, and the census of 1820 counted 1,496 people here.

How does Alexander rank for history?

Alexander is more historic than 82% 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.

What is on the National Register in Alexander?

One place: the Alexander Classical School (listed 1973).

How old are the homes in Alexander?

37% of Alexander’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1954.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 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.