Candor’s post office opened in 1814, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #391 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Its Register listing is the John W. McCarty House. Its Register listing is the John W. McCarty House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1820.
The Candor post office opened in 1814, the earliest record of the town by name. Six smaller post offices, Pipe Creek (1835), South Candor (1850) and Candor Centre (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,655 in 18202020 census: 5,149212 years
How historic is Candor?
A−
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Candor post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Candor’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Candor is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #391 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Candor’s 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 Candor’s 4.0 sits below most of its state (32% of New York towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Candor’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Candor’s post office has been open since 1814. Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Candor
1814–today
Willseyville
1827–today
Pipe Creek
1835–1838
South Candor
1850–1851
Candor Centre
1851–1855
Catatonk
1851–1934
Weltonville
1854–1905
North Candor
1876–1880
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CatatonkCrimson Mobile Home CourtFairfieldGridleyvilleHamar EstatesHamar Mobile Home EstatesHubbardtownJewell Mobile Home ParkUpper FairfieldWeltonvilleWillseyville
13cemeteries and burying grounds inside Candor
Anderson HillAnderson HillCass HillFairfieldMaple GrovePipe CreekPleasant ValleySmith ValleySnyderUpper FairfieldWeltonvilleWoodbridgeWoodford
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Candor’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Candor’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Settlement of the town began around 1794 on land purchased as part of the Watkins and Flint Patent of 1794.
The Town of Candor was formed from the Town of Spencer in 1811. Citizens wanted to name the town "Washington," but did not do so due to the existence of another town by that name in New York (Dutchess County). The source of the name "Candor" is unknown.
Candor was the community identified as "Springdale" in Vidich and Bensman's 1958 book, Small Town in Mass Society, which caused controversy for how it portrayed the politics of the Candor community and for how it failed to sufficiently anonymize residents.
Charles Francis Gridley, son of William Cadwell and Eliza (Woodbridge) Gridley, was horn at his present home at West Candor, December 16, 1848. The Gridley family is one of the oldest in the town of Candor, as the great-grandfather of Charles Francis, Seeler Gridley, sent his son Russell from Connecticut in 1802 to investigate the country here, and the next year brought his family hither and took possession of 1,700 acres of land at West Candor, on account of the timber. Russell Gridley was a captain of militia
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In the early history of the village the settlement was divided, one portion being in the upper part, which took the name of Candor Centre, while the settlement lower down the creek was known as Candor Corners. Nature provided two excellent water power privileges within what was then the settlement and these enterprising Yankees were ready to avail themselves of its advantages.
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
Candor, 1814 to 2000
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 Candor. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1903Owego 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 Candor.
Every building
Candor, building by building, 1900–1908
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.
The Candor post office opened in 1814, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Candor rank for history?
Candor is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #391 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 Candor?
One place: the John W. McCarty House (listed 2001).
How old are the homes in Candor?
34% of Candor’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (9), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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