Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Attica

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
A+History
History · Attica

Attica dates to 1811, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #148 of 758 in New York. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 35 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1884 on and the census since 1820.

1811founded
4on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Attica began

When was Attica founded?

1811

Attica dates its founding to 1811 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 1,519 in 18202020 census: 5,790215 years

How historic is Attica?

A+

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1814.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Attica’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Attica is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #148 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Attica’s overall grade.
Founding era1811, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194052.6% of homes (±6.4) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register4 listings, 38 historic buildings, 62.2 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 95%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 81%

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 Attica’s 62.2 sits above most of its state (71% of New York towns have fewer) while its 38 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points). Two sources give 1811.

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 Attica’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 Attica are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1917, drew every building in Attica.Old housesHalf of Attica’s homes were built before 1938.A historic districtThe Attica Market and Main Historic District takes in 23 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Attica’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Attica, building by building, 1884–1917

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.

Attica fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Attica came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Attica.

Read it all →

The Town of Attica was established in western New York in 1802 from a part of the Town of Sheldon. In 1816, part of Attica was taken to organize the new Town of Orangeville.

Attica is the location of two state prisons: New York's maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility and medium-security Wyoming Correctional Facility, both located south of the Village of Attica. Since the 1930s Attica had been a prison town, and most correctional officers live here or nearby with their families.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Attica, 1811 to 1905

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1811
    FoundingAttica is established
  3. 1814Post officeThe Attica post office opens
  4. 1824Born hereThomas M. Cooley is born here
  5. 1828Born hereCharles B. Benedict is born here
  6. 1839Post officeThe Attica Centre post office opens
  7. 1864Post officeThe Attica Centre post office closes
  8. 1896Born hereHarold C. Ostertag is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1905Born hereLeo Richard Smith is born here
  11. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Attica, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Market Street, Attica, New York, Easter Sunday2021Market Street, Attica, New York, Easter SundayNY98 South - NY354 West Signs2018NY98 South - NY354 West SignsNY98 South - Jct NY354 Sign2018NY98 South - Jct NY354 SignNY238 West2018NY238 WestNY238 North - NY98 NY354 Signs2018NY238 North - NY98 NY354 SignsAtticaNewYork2015AtticaNewYork2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookSouth NY 98 in Chautauqua County2008South NY 98 in Chautauqua CountyNY Route 243 and NY 98 junction2008NY Route 243 and NY 98 junctionAttica, New York2007Attica, New YorkNY Route 33 and NY Route 982000NY Route 33 and NY Route 98
On the map

Attica on the map, 1905 to 1978

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

Attica on the 1905 USGS mapAttica on the 1949 USGS mapAttica on the 1951 USGS mapAttica on the 1978 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 Attica.

On the National Register

4 listings protect 38 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
38
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
US Post Office-Attica
US Post Office-AtticaAugustus A. Smith HouseExchange Street Historic DistrictAttica Market and Main Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Queen Anne1
US Post Office-AtticaColonial Revival
Augustus A. Smith HouseQueen Anne
Exchange Street Historic DistrictDistrict
Attica Market and Main Historic DistrictDistrict

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

People over time

Attica, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001850190019502000Peak: 7,806

Between 1,519 and 7,806 people in every census since 1820.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Attica

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

See all →
L
Leo Richard SmithAmerican Roman Catholic bishop · b. 1905
Thomas M. CooleyAmerican judge · b. 1824
Charles B. BenedictAmerican politician · b. 1828
Harold C. OstertagAmerican politician · b. 1896
Robert S. StevensAmerican politician · b. 1824
Frederick C. StevensAmerican politician from New York · b. 1856
Places that used to be

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

Attica’s post office has been open since 1814. Another post office, Attica Centre, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Attica
1814–today
Attica Centre
1839–1864
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Attica CenterSierksSouth Attica
Gone or out of use
Saint Joseph's SchoolschoolSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 7schoolSchool Number 8schoolSchool Number 8school
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Attica
Attica CenterBrainardForest HillMaxonPrisonSaint VincentSouth Attica

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

BenningtonIts storyB+Alexander1 historic placeA−OrangevilleIts storyB+Middlebury3 historic placesA+

Questions about Attica’s history

What year was Attica founded?

In 1811, according to Wikidata. Attica’s post office opened in 1814, and the census of 1820 counted 1,519 people here.

How does Attica rank for history?

Attica is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #148 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.

What is on the National Register in Attica?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the US Post Office-Attica (listed 1988, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Exchange Street Historic District and the Attica Market and Main Historic District, with 35 contributing buildings. 38 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Attica?

53% of Attica’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.