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 dates to 1795, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1810.
1795founded
4on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
6famous people
Quick answers
How Boonville began
When was Boonville founded?
1795
Boonville dates its founding to 1795 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1810.
First census: 393 in 18102020 census: 2,020231 years
How historic is Boonville?
A+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1865.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 96% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Boonville’s overall grade.
Founding era1795, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194037.5% of homes (±7.3) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register4 listings, 77 historic buildings, 410 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
NewerOlder
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 410 sits above most of its state (90% of New York towns have fewer) while its 77 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1795.
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 (±7.3 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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.
★ What stands out · 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.
On 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.
Timeline
Boonville, 1795 to 1968
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1795FoundingBoonville is established
- 19th century
- 1838
Born hereHannah Tyler Wilcox is born here - 1859
Born hereJames Willard Schultz is born here - 1863
Born hereCleveland Moffett is born here - 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 - 1968
In the archiveDETAIL VIEW OF GATE BETWEEN LOCKS 39 AND 40. - Black River Canal, Locks 39-43, State Rout…
From the old history books
What they wrote about Boonville in 1912
Passages that mention Boonville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Oneida County, New York1912 · page 663Read the page →
Read the text
of work to perform. He shirked no responsibility. He was a frequent visitor to the building and he could not have been more interested had the project been a personal enterprise of his own." He was five times unanimously elected president of the village of Boonville, serving in 1874, 1889, 1890, 1891 and again in 1899. He instituted many valuable local improvements, including the erection of a new engine house and many street improvements. Erwin park was purchased and laid out and his influence was a forceful factor in the establishment of the municipal systems of water and electric light in the village. He was
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
Boonville, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1910s4 items
1910
1911
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
2020
2018
2018
2018
2018
2006
2006Then & 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 · +15On the National Register
4 listings protect 77 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
77
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People 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. 1929Help out
Finish Boonville’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Questions about Boonville’s history
What year was Boonville founded?
In 1795, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Boonville’s post office opened in 1865, and the census of 1810 counted 393 people here.
How does Boonville rank for history?
Boonville is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Boonville?
38% of Boonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.