Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1850.
The Avoca post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Avoca’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Avoca.
The first settler arrived around 1794. At that time, the area was home to the Seneca Indians. The town is named for the Thomas Moore poem about Avoca in Ireland. The town was formed from parts of four other towns in 1843. Those towns contributing to the new town were: Bath, Cohocton, Howard, and Wheeler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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.
1893Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Passages that mention Avoca, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In the year 1850 he settled in the village of Avoca, and opened a general merchandise store, which although of small beginning, he has gradually increased as the growing interests of the vicinity demanded, and continues at the present time.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A Christian church was planted at the town of Avoca in Buchannan's barn by Elder Calvin French in 1811. A Baptist church was founded in the town of Canisteo in 1794 by Rev. Jedediah Stephens. This is the oldest church in the Painted Post country, if not in the Genesee country.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Her mother died 1839 ; her father survives, and lives in the town of Avoca. Mrs. Cotton was born March, 1839. After his marriage, iNIr. Cotton remained in the town of Dansville, on the homestead, until 1865, when he disposed
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Avoca. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Avoca.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Avoca’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 1,574 and 2,314 people in every census since 1850.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Avoca’s Wikipedia page.
The Avoca post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (8), Wikipedia, 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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