Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 73% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1830.
Byron dates its founding to 1807 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1830.
More historic than 73% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Byron is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Byron’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Byron’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Byron. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Byron.
From Wikipedia’s history of Byron.
Byron was first settled circa 1807. The town was incorporated in 1820 from part of the town of Bergen.
On January 12, 1919, there was a New York Central train wreck in South Byron, killing 22.
Byron was traditionally a rural area of dairy and vegetable farms.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Byron, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Moore, the poet, was a close friend of Byron's and the editor of his Life. Indeed, Byron gave Moore during his lifetime an autobiography which never saw the light, for after being read by a few persons, the publisher Murray, who had paid Moore 2000 guineas for it, burned it in the presence of a small company, as unsuitable for publication. Moore repaid the sum advanced him. This poem was written after Byron had left England for the last time.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereDuncan M. Martin is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Between 1,273 and 2,493 people in every census since 1830.
19 censuses, 1830–2010.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Byron’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Byron’s post office has been open since 1820.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1807, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Byron’s post office opened in 1820, and the census of 1830 counted 1,939 people here.
Byron is more historic than 73% 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.
54% of Byron’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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.
