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History · Candor

Candor’s post office opened in 1814, and 64% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1820.

1814first post office
1on the National Register
64%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Candor’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Candor began

When was Candor founded?

1814

The Candor post office opened in 1814, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,655 in 18202020 census: 786212 years
Founding year: the first Candor post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Candor’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1930, then more than doubled.Old housesHalf of Candor’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1969. Watch Candor change.
★ What stands out · 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.
Retake an old viewPartial View of Bristol Iron Works, Owe…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Candor, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50018501900195020004,323 in 1880Low: 2,564

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1930, then more than doubled.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Candor’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Candor came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Candor.

Read it all →

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Candor in 1900

Passages that mention Candor, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Organization and Civil History. — The pioneer and early settlement of the town now called Candor was begun and substantially accomplished while the territory formed a part of the original township of Owego ; and unlike the majority of towns in this county, settlement in Candor was not begun until a…
Our county and its people1900 · page 426Read the page →
Read the text

Organization and Civil History. — The pioneer and early settlement of the town now called Candor was begun and substantially accomplished while the territory formed a part of the original township of Owego ; and unlike the majority of towns in this county, settlement in Candor was not begun until after the civil authority of both county and town were extended over the region.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Thomas Parks, 4th, founder of Parks settlement in the town of Candor, was a New Englander by birth, a sea captain by former occupation, and a pioneer in Tioga county. In the year 1788 Captain Parks left Vestal and moved to what is now Candor, where, it has been said, he was the first settler. He bu…
Our county and its people1900 · page 723Read the page →
Read the text

Thomas Parks, 4th, founder of Parks settlement in the town of Candor, was a New Englander by birth, a sea captain by former occupation, and a pioneer in Tioga county. In the year 1788 Captain Parks left Vestal and moved to what is now Candor, where, it has been said, he was the first settler. He built a saw mill, cleared up a good farm and was in all respects a worthy pioneer.

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, 1830 to 2000

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1830Born hereHerman L. Humphrey is born here
  3. 1844Born hereSarah Warren Keeler is born here
  4. 1869In the archivePartial View of Bristol Iron Works, Owego N.Y; Union School, Candor Tioga Co. N.Y; Cong C…
  5. 1873Born hereFrank Howard is born here
  6. 1889Born hereAlice Blinn is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 5,314
By decade

Candor, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Partial View of Bristol Iron Works, Owego N.Y; Union School, Candor Tioga Co. N.Y; Cong Church, Candor Tioga Co. N.Y; V…1869Partial View of Bristol Iron Works, Owego N.Y; Union …
Today9 recent
Bank barn near Candor, New York. A bank barn has an earthen ramp, or bank, leading to an upper story of the structure2018Bank barn near Candor, New York. A bank barn has an e…Two metal-art moose yard figures outside a farmhouse near Candor, New York2018Two metal-art moose yard figures outside a farmhouse …A tractor pulls a grass cutter, gathering animal forage, near Candor, New York2018A tractor pulls a grass cutter, gathering animal fora…Cows catch some shade on a dairy farm near Candor, New York2018Cows catch some shade on a dairy farm near Candor, Ne…Hay wagons outside a dairy barn near Candor, New York2018Hay wagons outside a dairy barn near Candor, New YorkBarn and shed on a farm near Candor, New York2018Barn and shed on a farm near Candor, New YorkDairy barn complex near Candor, New York2018Dairy barn complex near Candor, New YorkWheat field near Candor, New York2018Wheat field near Candor, New YorkCornfield near Candor, New York2018Cornfield near Candor, New York
On the map

Candor on the map, 1903 to 1969

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Candor. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Candor on the 1903 USGS mapCandor on the 1956 USGS mapCandor on the 1969 USGS map1903Owego 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.

Candor fire insurance map, 1900, sheet 11900Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Partial View of Bristol Iron Works, Owego N.Y; Union School, Candor Tioga Co. N.Y; Cong Church, Candor Tioga Co. N.Y; V…
Retake this viewPartial View of Bristol Iron Works, Owego N.Y; Union School, Candor Tioga Co. N.Y; Cong Church, Candor Tioga Co. N.Y; V…, 1869

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Candor’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Candor

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Candor

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Herman L. HumphreyAmerican politician · b. 1830
Alice BlinnAmerican educator and magazine editor · b. 1889
Frank HowardAmerican politician · b. 1873
S
Sarah Warren KeelerEducator of the deaf · b. 1844
T
Thomas Jefferson Graham19th century American politician · b. 1832

Questions about Candor’s history

What year was Candor founded?

The Candor post office opened in 1814, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 Library of Congress (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.