Bovina’s post office opened in 1821, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 142 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1820.
The Bovina post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lake Delaware (1881), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,207 in 18202020 census: 658205 years
Founding year: the first Bovina post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Bovina’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town formed in 1820 from parts of the towns of Delhi, Stamford, and Middletown. The town's population was around 1,200 at its creation, but after reaching a peak in the 1840s, it steadily declined. The town became noted for the quality of its dairy products, especially butter, in the late 19th century.
The Burns Family Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Passages that mention Bovina, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Delaware County, and border wars of New York, containing a sketch of the late anti-rent difficulties in Delaware..1856 · page 210Read the page →
Read the text
Tompkins, originally called Pine-field, was erected in 1808 ; Masonville was erected from Sidney in 1811 ; Davenport from Kortright and Maryland, Otsego county; Andes was taken from Middletown in 1819 ; Bovina was taken from Delhi and Stamford in 1820. The name was given by the late General Root, and is of a latin origin, signifying cattle or oxen — it is both beautiful and appropriate. Hamden was taken from Walton in 1825, and was the last town organized in the
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
Bovina, 1821 to 1947
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Bovina post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Bovina?
4 listings: 1 building and 3 historic districts, the Bovina Center Historic District, the Burns Family Farm and the McNaught Family Farm, with 142 contributing buildings. 147 historic buildings in all.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 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.
