–Not graded

History · Ava

Ava’s post office opened in 1830, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Ava Town Hall. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1850.

1830first post office

1on the National Register

21%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Ava began, and where its name came from

When was Ava founded?

1830

The Ava post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,027 in 18502020 census: 680196 years

How did Ava get its name?

Ava was named after the Kingdom of Ava.

Founding year: the first Ava post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Ava’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 Ava are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,260 in 1860; 676 people lived here in 2010.On the map since 19043 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1955. Watch Ava change.Deep rootsA post office since 1830: 196 years of Ava.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ava’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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People over time

Ava, census by census

Peaked at 1,260 in 1860; 676 people lived here in 2010.

17 censuses, 1850–2010.

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

On the map

Ava on the map, 1904 to 1955

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

1904Boonville 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 Ava.

The story

How Ava came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ava.

Read it all →

Ava was formed from Boonville on May 12, 1846. It was the second to last town to be created in the county, followed only by Forestport in 1869.

Ava was settled in 1798 by Ebenezer Harger, who two years prior moved to Whitestown from Connecticut. The next settlers were Zephaniah and Abner Wood. Isaac Knight arrived from Rhode Island in 1798 or 1799. Around 1800, Philo Harger, Benjamin Jones, Lemuel Wood, Justus Beardsley and Salmon Bates (who opened the town's first tavern in his house) arrived. Daniel Buck, an American Revolutionary War veteran arrived from Massachusetts in 1800. Other early settlers were Rickerson Kenyon, Joseph Hunt, Remember Kent, who built an early saw-mill, and Bates, Barnard, Fanning, Adams, Beck, Tiffany.

ChaptersEarly settlers Land Civic formation Name Commerce

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Ava in 1878

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

The town of Ava was erected from Boonville, by an act of the Legislature, passed May 12, 1846, entitled “ An act to erect the town of Ava from the west part of the town of Boonville, in the county of Oneida.” This act is as follows, viz. : “The people of the State of New York, represented in Senate… — **History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878**1878 · page 418Read the page →
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The town of Ava was erected from Boonville, by an act of the Legislature, passed May 12, 1846, entitled “ An act to erect the town of Ava from the west part of the town of Boonville, in the county of Oneida.” This act is as follows, viz. : “The people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: “ % 1. All that part of the town of Boonville, in the county of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

The town of Ava was erected from Boonville, by an act of the Legislature, passed May 12, 184G, entitled ■' An act to erect the town of Ava from the west part of the town of Boonville, in the county of Oneida.'' This act is as follows, viz. : " The people of the State of New York, represented in Sen… — **History of Oneida County, New York**1878 · page 418Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Ava was erected from Boonville, by an act of the Legislature, passed May 12, 184G, entitled ■' An act to erect the town of Ava from the west part of the town of Boonville, in the county of Oneida.'' This act is as follows, viz. : " The people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enaet as follows: "§ 1. All that part of the town of Boonville, in the county of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

**History of Oneida County, New York**1878 · page 477Read the page →
Read the text
contained in May, 1878, a post-office, with G. Simonds as postmaster, 2 hotels, a shoe-shop, a grist-mill a short distance cast, owned by Wyman Brothers, a blacksmith-shop, and a small population. It is on the stage route from Ava Corners to Rome. POINT ROCK.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

To the northward of Ava are the dense forests of the northeastern portion of Oswego County, where yet the deer, wolf, and bear are found, and an occasional panther makes the woods ring with his hideous notes. This town was much troubled, during the first years of its settlement, by these animals, e… — **History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878**1878 · page 417Read the page →
Read the text
To the northward of Ava are the dense forests of the northeastern portion of Oswego County, where yet the deer, wolf, and bear are found, and an occasional panther makes the woods ring with his hideous notes. This town was much troubled, during the first years of its settlement, by these animals, especially by the wolves, which made sad havoc among the few flocks of sheep possessed by the settlers, and the bears were not too conscientious to carry
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

Ava, 1830 to 1904

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

19th century
1830Post officeThe Ava post office opens
1860CensusPopulation peaks at 1,260
20th century
1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Ava, decade by decade

Today1 recent

2012Ava Town Hall Ava NY Jan 12

On the National Register

1 historic place in Ava

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1992

Ava Town Hall

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1

Ava Town HallLate Victorian

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Ava’s post office has been open since 1830.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Flint TownRedmond Corner

Gone or out of use

Bates SchoolschoolEvans SchoolschoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 6schoolWebster Hill Schoolschool

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ava

AvaThornton

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.

AnnsvilleIts storyB Western2 historic placesA⁻Boonville5 historic placesA⁻LeeIts storyB⁻LewisIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ava’s history

What year was Ava founded?

The Ava post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Ava?

One place: the Ava Town Hall (listed 1992).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

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

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