The story
Read it all →How Boonville came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Boonville.
The town was first settled c. 1795. The Town of Boonville was created in 1805 from the Town of Leyden.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Boonville
Boonville’s post office opened in 1865, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #418 of 758 in New York. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 74 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1810.
1865first post office
5on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
6famous people
Quick answers
How Boonville began
When was Boonville founded?
1865
The Boonville post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Hawkinsville (1851) and Hurlbutville (1854), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 393 in 18102020 census: 4,518161 years
How historic is Boonville?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Boonville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Boonville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Boonville is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #418 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Boonville’s overall grade.
Founding era1865, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194029.7% of homes (±7.0) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register5 listings, 77 historic buildings, 172 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 45%
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 Boonville’s 172 sits above most of its state (81% of New York towns have fewer) while its 77 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Boonville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Boonville Historic District takes in 74 historic buildings.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1909, drew every building in Boonville.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Boonville, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Boonville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Boonville’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the National Register
5 listings protect 77 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
77
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Five Lock Combine and Locks 37 and 38, Black Ri…
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Greek Revival2
Romanesque2
Classical Revival1
Second Empire1
Federal1
Gothic Revival1
Boonville Historic DistrictClassical Revival
US Post Office-BoonvilleColonial Revival
Black River Canal WarehouseBuilding
All 5 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Boonville, building by building, 1884–1909
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.
1884Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Boonville in 1878
Passages that mention Boonville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Oneida County, New York1878 · page 419Read the page →
Read the text
Jotham Snow, from Worcester Co., Mass., located in the town of Boonville in 1804 ; he had lived in Leyden, Lewis Co., since 1798 or 1799. The farm he located on in Boonville was three miles south of the village, and is now the property of George Tubbs. Mr. Snow's son, S. B. Snow, born in this town in 1809, has been engaged in mercantile business in the village since 1854.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Oneida County, New York1878 · page 425Read the page →
Read the text
A general act for the incorporation of villages was passed by the State Legislature, December 7, 1847, and the village of Boonville was incorporated under the provisions of this act in 1855, with the following-described boundaries, viz. : " Commencing at the noi-thwest corner of Elisha Scovil's land (in the said town of Boonville), and running thence south two degrees west 3718 feet to the centre of the fctrcet designated on the map accompanying the petition as Ford Street; thence south 18° 24' east
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-18781878 · page 425Read the page →
Read the text
A general act for the incorporation of villages was passed by the State Legislature, December 7, 1847, and the village of Boonville was incorporated under the provisions of this act in 1855, with the following-described boundaries, viz. : “ Commencing at the northwest corner of Elisha Seovil’s land (in the said town of Boonville), and running thence south two degrees west 3718 feet to the centre of the street, designated on the map accompanying the petition as Ford Street; thence south 18° 24' east
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-18781878 · page 418Read the page →
Read the text
2. All the remaining part of the town of Boonville shall continue to be and remain a separate town by the name of Boonville. 3. The first town-meeting in the town of Ava shall be held on the fourth Tuesday of May, 1846, at ten o’clock in the forenoon, at the house of Joshua Coleman, in said town, and at such town-meeting Isaac Knight, Horace Hoyt, and Truman Harger, or any two of them, may preside, and for that purpose shall possess all the powers and duties of Justices of the Peace.
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
Boonville, 1838 to 1968
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1838
Born hereHannah Tyler Wilcox is born here - 1839Post officeThe Alder Creek post office opens
- 1851Post officeThe Hawkinsville post office opens
- 1854Post officeThe Hurlbutville post office opens
- 1859
Born hereJames Willard Schultz is born here - 1863
Born hereCleveland Moffett is born here - 1863Post officeThe Hurlbutville post office closes
- 1875BuiltErwin Library and Pratt House is built
- 20th century
- 1903Born hereWalter D. Edmonds is born here
- 1904
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1910
In the archiveSchuyler Street - 1935Post officeThe Hawkinsville post office closes
- 1968
In the archiveDETAIL VIEW OF GATE BETWEEN LOCKS 39 AND 40. - Black River Canal, Locks 39-43, State Rout…
By decade
Boonville, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1910s2 items
19111920s–1950snothing yet
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.
Add from your album1970s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
2018
2006
2006On the map
Boonville on the map, 1904 to 1955
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Boonville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Boonville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Boonville.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewSchuyler Street, c. 1910
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Boonville’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Boonville, census by census
Between 393 and 5,519 people in every census since 1810.
22 censuses, 1810–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Boonville’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →6 famous people were born in Boonville
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
W
Walter D. EdmondsAmerican writer · b. 1903S
Stanley Julian RoszkowskiUnited States federal judge · b. 1923B
Bob ZeiglerAmerican racing driver · b. 1929Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Boonville’s post office has been open since 1865. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Alder Creek
Hawkinsville
Hurlbutville
Boonville
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alder CreekHawkinsvilleHurlbutville
Gone or out of use
Alger SchoolschoolBamber SchoolschoolBoonville QuarrymineReservoir SchoolschoolSchool Number 11schoolSchool Number 16schoolSchool Number 18schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 5school
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Boonville
Alder CreekBoonvilleEgyptHayes
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.
Questions about Boonville’s history
What year was Boonville founded?
The Boonville post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Boonville rank for history?
Boonville is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #418 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 Boonville?
5 listings: 3 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Boonville Historic District and the Five Lock Combine and Locks 37 and 38, Black River Canal, with 74 contributing buildings. 77 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Boonville?
30% of Boonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1972.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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, 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.