The story
Read it all →How Castile came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Castile.
The Town of Castile was established in 1821 from part of the Town of Perry.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Castile
Castile’s post office opened in 1821, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: 5 old photos and papers from 1850 on.
1821first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
4famous people
Quick answers
How Castile began
When was Castile founded?
1821
The Castile post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 970205 years
Founding year: the first Castile post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Castile’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Timeline
Castile, 1836 to 1925
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1836
Born hereWilliam B. Powell is born here - 1838Born hereAthelston Gaston is born here
- 1840
Born hereRobert J C Whaley is born here - 1850
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New York - Wyoming County - ED 61-12, ED … - 1864
In the archiveJabez Greene (The Story, 1925) - 20th century
- 1906
In the archiveBrookside, home of Dr. Cordelia A. Greene in Castile, New York (The Art of Keeping Well, … - 1906Born hereJulia Boyer Reinstein is born here
- 1925
In the archiveBrookside, home of Dr. Cordelia A. Greene in Castile, New York (The Story, 1925)
By decade
Castile, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1850s–1860s2 items
1900s–1920s3 items
19251930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumToday1 recent
2010Then & 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.
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - New York - Wyoming County - ED 61-12, ED 61-13, ED 61-14, ED 61-15, ED …, 1850
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Castile’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →4 famous people were born in Castile
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Help out
Finish Castile’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Questions about Castile’s history
What year was Castile founded?
The Castile post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), Wikipedia and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.