Camillus dates to 1799, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #636 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Most of Camillus was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1810.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Camillus’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Camillus is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #636 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Camillus’ 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 Camillus’ 2.4 sits below most of its state (26% of New York towns have fewer) while its 6 listings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1799.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Camillus’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Camillus’s post office has been open since 1810. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Camillus
1810–today
Belle Isle
1827–1905
Fair Mount
1845–1899
Warner
1870–today
Amboy
1886–1899
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AmboyBennetts CornersEdgewood GardenFairmountGarden TerraceMartiscoNewportNorth Belle IsleOrchard VillageOswego BitterParson FarmsSherwood KnollsStanley ManorSweets CrossingWest Genesee TerraceWesterleaWestview ManorWindcrest Park
Gone or out of use
Kallet Drive-InlocaleSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 7schoolSchool Number 9schoolSyracuse Municipal Airportairport
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Camillus
Belle IsleFairmont RuralGreenlawn Memorial ParkHoly Cross Polish National CatholicMaplewoodOswego BitterSherwood RobbinsWheeler
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Camillus’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Camillus’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Most of the current-day Town of Camillus was part of the former Central New York Military Tract. Much of the southeastern portion of the town, corresponding to Fairmount, was not part of the Military Tract but was instead part of the original Onondaga Reservation territory that came under New York State control after the Treaty of Cayuga Bridge in 1795. This part of the town, originally incorporated into the Town of Onondaga, was annexed to Camillus in 1834. Joseph Sherwood, the first pioneer arrived around 1795 at the site of the village of Camillus. The Town of Camillus was formed in 1799 with land from the Town of Marcellus. Industrial development was promoted by the Erie Canal in 1825. Camillus was also on the railroad line linking Syracuse to Auburn in 1838. The Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct and Wilcox Octagon House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Passages that mention Camillus, cut from the printed page as they were published.
... History of Onondaga County, New York1878 · page 261Read the page →
Read the text
off, in 1798, and the township of Marcellus was organized as a town, that portion of the Reservation not included in Onondaga, on the west side of the lake and creek, was attached to Camillus. At the organization of the town of Salina, in 1809, a triangular piece of ground, containing nine and a half lots, was taken from the northwest corner of Manlius, which, with the Salt Springs Reservation, con-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
reelected by his neighbors to fill that position. He was appointed one of the commissioners ( 1829) to set off the town of Van Buren from the then large town of Camillus. He was appointed by the Legislature as commissioner to carry out many important trusts. He acted as arbitrator in numerous cases to adjust difficulties among men. He did much for the improvement of Onondaga County in ameliorat-
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
Camillus, 1799 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Camillus. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1900Baldwinsville sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Camillus.
Every building
Camillus, building by building, 1911–1927
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.
In 1799, according to Wikidata. Camillus’ post office opened in 1810, and the census of 1820 counted 5,791 people here.
How does Camillus rank for history?
Camillus is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #636 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 Camillus?
6 listings: 5 buildings and 1 structure.
How old are the homes in Camillus?
6% of Camillus’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (6), 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.
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