Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Barker. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Olcott 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 Barker.
The story so far
Barker, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Barker yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Barker is a village in Niagara County, New York. The population was 575 at the time of the 2020 census. Barker is the least populated city/incorporated community in Niagara County. The mail ZIP code is 14012. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. Barker is within the Town of Somerset and was incorporated in 1908. The main crossroad in the town is the intersection of West Somerset Road and Quaker Road (NY 148).
Its first post office opened in 1877. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 533 to 575 (+8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Barker in 1845
Passages that mention Barker, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The lives and opinions of Benj'n Franklin Butler, United States district attorney for the southern district of New York1845 · page 29Read the page →
Read the text
his debts? Barker's brother-in-law became bankrupt in Liverpool, Jan. 1816, but he says he lost but very little by him — that his (Barker's) original capital was $250,000, and that his bank note circulation was for a long time over half a million of dollars ! What lo.sses did he sustain to outweigh the vast capital and enormous gains here displayed before us ? Messrs. Butler and Barker joined, in August, 1819, in the most solemn and apparently sincere declarations, that the wealth to pay all debts was sure and abundant. Then comes poverty— then .li,-13U,000 [in Butler's speech he says $2.30,016] are lent to prop a dishonest corporation — fraud, say the juries, followed next, and there the curtain drops Not only did Barker hire the most eminent lawyers of the age to defend him, but was also indulged by the judge with
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.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
