On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aurelius is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #503 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Aurelius’ 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 Aurelius’ 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Aurelius’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Sullivan Expedition passed through to destroy the Cayuga villages in 1779. This region became part of the Central New York Military Tract, used to compensate New York soldiers for service in the military during the War for Independence. The first European-American settler of record arrived in the area in 1789. It is likely that others had made their homes in the vicinity on lands belonging to the native Iroquois. The town of Aurelius, formed in 1789, was already an existing township when Cayuga County was carved out of Onondaga County in 1799. The town of Auburn was established from a portion of Aurelius. (Auburn was incorporated as a village in 1815 and received a city charter in 1848; the west line of the city abuts the town of Aurelius.)
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.
Aurelius is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #503 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 Aurelius?
One place: the Hutchinson Homestead (listed 2009).
How old are the homes in Aurelius?
30% of Aurelius’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1963.
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 Library of Congress (1), 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) 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.
1904
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2018
2009
