Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 209 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1820.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Butternuts is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs put Butternuts near the top nationally; its National Register listings ranks highest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Butternuts’ 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 Butternuts’ 1,228 sits above most of its state (97% of New York towns have fewer) while its 214 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Butternuts’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Butternuts is generally believed to be named for three butternut (a.k.a. white walnut) trees growing from one stump that originally marked the corner of the townships of what is now New Lisbon, Pittsfield and Morris when this entire section of the county was surveyed by Richard Smith before the Revolution. Said tree was depicted as the corporate logo of the Butternuts Woolen & Cotton textile firm but was cut down by the Lull family to build their log cabin.
Passages that mention Butternuts, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Otsego County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1878 · page 113Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Butternuts has been noted for the excellence of its schools, and its general interest in educational mattere, from the time of its settlement, in about 1790. As early as the year 1817 it had an academy, a wooden building standing on the present site of the " marble-shop," and which was burned, and rebuilt of stone, as it now stands, by the individual liberality of Samuel Cotton, J. T. Gilbert, Edward Thorp, and John Brewer, by whom it was owned
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Otsego County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1878 · page 333Read the page →
Read the text
This was one of the three towns first organized after the formation of the County, being set off from Otsego on the 10th day of April, 1792. It retained its original dimensions until 1796, when the town of Butternuts, and Suf- /raffe, now Milford, and Otego, now Oneonta, were taken off. Its area was further diminished in 1822, when a part of Uuntsville, now Otego, was set off, and a portion was added to Buttornuts in 1857.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Grand Army of the Republic. History of the order in the U. S. by counties. Otsego County posts, Department of New York, including a complete record of soldiers surviving and buried in the county, with company and regiment ... Compiled by D. A. Ellis1892Read the page →
Read the text
In 1874 moved to Gilbertsville and joined Musson Post in 1882. Was elected collector for the town of Butternuts for 1891. He is now residing at Gilbertsville. Was engaged in the battles of Roanoke Island and Newbem, N. C.
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
Butternuts, 1796 to 1915
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Butternuts is among the most historic 1% 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.
What is on the National Register in Butternuts?
5 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Major's Inn and Gilbert Block (listed 1973, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Gilbertsville Historic District, the Rockwells Mills Historic District and the Gilbertsville Water Works, with 209 contributing buildings. 214 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Butternuts?
42% of Butternuts’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 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 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.
