Batavia dates to 1802, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #202 of 758 in New York. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Holland Land Office, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 19 buildings between them. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1810.
Batavia dates its founding to 1802 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1810.
First census: 100 in 18102020 census: 15,600224 years
How did Batavia get its name?
Batavia’s name comes from the Batavian Republic (1795–1806), a republican government of the Netherlands and home of the investors of the Holland Land Company.
How historic is Batavia?
A
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1802. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Batavia’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Batavia is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #202 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 National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Batavia’s 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 Batavia’s 18.5 sits near the middle of its state (55% of New York towns have fewer) while its 28 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% 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 (±4.0 points). Two sources give 1802.
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 Batavia’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Batavia, building by building, 1884–1919
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.
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.
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.
The current City of Batavia was an early settlement in what is today called Genesee Country, the farthest western region of New York State, comprising the Genesee Valley and westward to the Niagara River, Lake Erie, and the Pennsylvania line. The tract purchased in western New York (the Holland Purchase) was a 3,250,000 acre (13,150 km2) portion of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase that lay west of the Genesee River. It was purchased in December 1792, February 1793, and July 1793 from Robert Morris, a prominent Revolutionary banker, by the Holland Land Company, a consortium of Dutch bankers.
In 1802, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Batavia’s post office opened in 1802, and the census of 1810 counted 100 people here.
How does Batavia rank for history?
Batavia is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #202 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 Batavia?
10 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Holland Land Office (a National Historic Landmark since 1960), 2 historic districts, the Genesee County Courthouse Historic District and the Batavia Veterans Administration Hospital, with 19 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 28 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Batavia?
48% of Batavia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1944.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (12), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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.
★ Landmark
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