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History · Birdsall

Birdsall dates to 1825

Most of Birdsall was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 1830.

1825founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Birdsall began

When was Birdsall founded?

1825

Birdsall dates its founding to 1825 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 543 in 18302020 census: 190201 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1830.The full story ↓

What stands out about Birdsall’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 Birdsall are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 909 in 1860; 190 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19163 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1964. Watch Birdsall change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1825: 201 years of Birdsall.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Birdsall’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Birdsall’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

Birdsall, census by census

02004006008001,0001850190019502000Peak: 909

Peaked at 909 in 1860; 190 people lived here in 2020.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

On the map

Birdsall on the map, 1916 to 1964

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

Birdsall on the 1916 USGS mapBirdsall on the 1940 USGS mapBirdsall on the 1964 USGS map1916Canaseraga 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 Birdsall.

The story

How Birdsall came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Birdsall.

Read it all →

The area that is now Birdsall was first settled circa 1816. The town of Birdsall was created in 1829 from parts of the towns of Almond and Allen.

From 1882 to April 1, 1947, Birdsall was located on the main line of the Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern Railroad and predecessors. It was abandoned on the latter date by the U. S. Interstate Commerce Commission to promote the use of highway truck transportation in the area.

In 1980, the Fire Department of Birdsall was started by William Timberlake. He and Dale Wheeler were able to get the first fire truck donated from the Egypt, New York Fire Department for $1.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Birdsall, 1825 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825
    FoundingBirdsall is established
  3. 1830Post officeThe Birdsall post office opens
  4. 1860CensusPopulation peaks at 909
  5. 1878Post officeThe Hiltonville post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902Post officeThe Hiltonville post office closes
  8. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1969Post officeThe Birdsall post office closes
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.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Birdsall had its own post office from 1830 to 1969. Another post office, Hiltonville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Birdsall
1830–1969
Hiltonville
1878–1902
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HiltonvilleScholes
Gone or out of use
Black Creek SchoolschoolJersey Hill SchoolschoolSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6school

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.

GroveIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAllenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWest Almond1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBurns1 historic placeAAlmondIts storyB+

Questions about Birdsall’s history

What year was Birdsall founded?

In 1825, according to Wikidata. Birdsall’s post office opened in 1830, and the census of 1830 counted 543 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 Wikipedia, 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.