History · Cato

Cato’s post office opened in 1816, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the William Smith Ingham House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1810.

1816first post office

1on the National Register

32%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Cato’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Cato began

When was Cato founded?

1816

The Cato post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Cato Four Corners (1824), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,075 in 18102020 census: 2,445210 years

How historic is Cato?

A⁻

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Cato post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Cato’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cato is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cato’s overall grade.

Founding era1816, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194032.3% of homes (±5.1) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A National Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 7.9 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%

NewerOlder

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 Cato’s 7.9 sits near the middle of its state (42% 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 (±5.1 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 Cato’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.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1954. Watch Cato change.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,021 in 1820; 2,445 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1911, drew every building in Cato.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cato’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cato’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewLand use plan for town of Cato: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Cato on the map, 1902 to 1954

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

1902Weedsport 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 Cato.

People over time

Cato, census by census

Peaked at 4,021 in 1820; 2,445 people lived here in 2020.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

The story

How Cato came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cato.

Read it all →

The town was in the Central New York Military Tract, reserved for veterans of the American Revolution. Settlers trickled in during the early 19th century. After the War of 1812, the population increased more quickly.

The town was formed in 1802 from part of the town of Aurelius. Cato was subsequently reduced in size when new towns were formed: Sterling in 1812, and in 1821 Conquest, Ira, and Victory. Part of the town of Ira was returned to Cato in 1824.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Cato, 1879–1889

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

on the north by Sterling, on the east by Ira, on the south by Conquest, and on the west by Wayne Co. It is the north-west quarter of the old military town of Cato, from which it was formed March i6th, 1821. Its name, like that of Conquest, which town was organized at the same time, originates from … — **History of Cayuga County, New York**1879 · page 267Read the page →
Read the text
on the north by Sterling, on the east by Ira, on the south by Conquest, and on the west by Wayne Co. It is the north-west quarter of the old military town of Cato, from which it was formed March i6th, 1821. Its name, like that of Conquest, which town was organized at the same time, originates from the victory achieved by those who favored a division of the town of Cato
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Cato, who was never sparing in his own praises, and thought boasting a natural attendant on great actions, is very pompous in his account of this exploit He says, '* That those who saw him charging the enemy, routing and pursuing them, declared, that Cato owed less to the people of Rome, than the p… — Plutarch's lives of Romulus, Lycurgus, Solon, Pericles, Cato, Pompey, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Demosthenes, Cicero, Mark Antony, Brutus, and others, and his comparisons. With notes, critical and historical1889 · page 176Read the page →
Read the text
Cato, who was never sparing in his own praises, and thought boasting a natural attendant on great actions, is very pompous in his account of this exploit He says, '* That those who saw him charging the enemy, routing and pursuing them, declared, that Cato owed less to the people of Rome, than the people of Rome owed to Cato ; and that the Consul Manius himself, coming hot from the fight, took him in his arms as he too came panting from
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

The river is spanned within the limits of the town by three bridges, two of wood and one of iron. The latter, in the south-east corner, connects Cato and Elbridge, and was built in 1868, at a cost of about $25,000, toward which Cayuga and Onondaga counties each contributed $5,000, the remainder bei… — **History of Cayuga County, New York**1879 · page 288Read the page →
Read the text
The river is spanned within the limits of the town by three bridges, two of wood and one of iron. The latter, in the south-east corner, connects Cato and Elbridge, and was built in 1868, at a cost of about $25,000, toward which Cayuga and Onondaga counties each contributed $5,000, the remainder being paid in equal shares by the towns of Cato and Elbridge. It replaced a wooden
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

Cato, 1816 to 1983

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

19th century
1816Post officeThe Cato post office opens
1820CensusPopulation peaks at 4,021
1824Post officeThe Cato Four Corners post office opens
1850Post officeThe Cato Four Corners post office closes
1850Post officeThe Meridian post office opens
20th century
1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1978In the archiveLand use plan for town of Cato
1983Born hereRegan Smith is born here

By decade

Cato, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s1 item

1978Land use plan for town of Cato

1980s–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 album

Today9 recent

2024Main Street Auto with a Double Rainbow

2024Cato from East Main Street facing West

2024Cato from East Main Street facing East

2019CatoNewYorkPioneerCemeteryHistoricalMarker

2018NY370 East Sign

2018NY370 East

2017New Water Tower Winter 2017

2012Cato Water Tower

2008Untitled photo

Every building

Cato, building by building, 1894–1911

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.

1894Sheet 1 of 2

Edition

Sheets

+1 more at the Library of Congress

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.

Retake this viewLand use plan for town of Cato, 1978

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

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

1 historic place in Cato

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

2005

William Smith Ingham House

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1

William Smith Ingham HouseGreek Revival

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Cato’s post office has been open since 1816. Another post office, Cato Four Corners, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cato

1816–today

Cato Four Corners

1824–1850

Meridian

1850–today

18101920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Meridian

Gone or out of use

Brick Church StationlocaleSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 2school

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cato

CrosmanLa DueMeridianSmith Road

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Brutus4 historic placesA Lysander3 historic placesA⁻ConquestIts storyB IraIts storyB⁺Elbridge2 historic placesA

Questions about Cato’s history

What year was Cato founded?

The Cato post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cato rank for history?

Cato is more historic than 84% 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.

What is on the National Register in Cato?

One place: the William Smith Ingham House (listed 2005).

How old are the homes in Cato?

32% of Cato’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1974.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), 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.

Post to Cato

Check your email