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B+History
History · Caton

Caton dates to 1839, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1840.

1839founded
0on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: J. Passepartout · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Caton began

When was Caton founded?

1839

Caton dates its founding to 1839 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 797 in 18402020 census: 2,049187 years

How historic is Caton?

B+

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1832.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Caton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Caton is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Caton’s overall grade.
Founding era1839, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194035.1% of homes (±9.7) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical NY town 12.3 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 69%
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 Caton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.7 points). Two sources give 1839.

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 Caton’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 half of its people between 1880 and 1920, then more than doubled.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Caton, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19144 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1969. Watch Caton change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Caton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Caton’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 viewCaton Center (Village); Caton Business …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Caton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018501900195020001,642 in 1880Low: 688

Lost half of its people between 1880 and 1920, then more than doubled.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

Caton had its own post office from 1848 to 1908. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wormley's
1832–1848
Caton
1848–1908
West Caton
1888–1910
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BrowntownWest Caton
Gone or out of use
Brees SchoolschoolForest Hill SchoolschoolHonness SchoolschoolRed SchoolschoolTobey Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Caton
ElmwoodKelly Hill

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

The story

How Caton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Caton.

Read it all →

Caton was formed in 1839, as the "Town of Wormley" from the Town of Corning (then known as the Town of Painted Post). In 1840, the town name was changed to "Caton" after an act to change it was passed. Caton also sent the most men to the Civil War than any other town in Steuben County. According to Pioneer History & Atlas of Steuben County, NY, the first electric chair was manufactured by George Davis in a chair factory in West Caton, though there no other sources confirming it.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Caton in 1911

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

of "Wayland, a parochial school was founded in 1850, under the instruction of the Sisters of Mercy. It is well attended and has a good reputation. A Catholic church was organized in the town of Addison in 1854; town of.Cohocton, 1861; town of Caton, 1883; town of Prattsburg, 1887 ; town of Pulteney…
A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people1911 · page 194Read the page →
Read the text

of "Wayland, a parochial school was founded in 1850, under the instruction of the Sisters of Mercy. It is well attended and has a good reputation. A Catholic church was organized in the town of Addison in 1854; town of.Cohocton, 1861; town of Caton, 1883; town of Prattsburg, 1887 ; town of Pulteney, 1888 ; town of Cameron, 1891 ; and in the town of Campbell the following year.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Rev. Asa Orcutt in 1825 ; in the same year in the towns of Thurston and Tuscarora ; in the towns of Addison and Campbell, 1827 ; in the town of Fremont, 1828 ; in the town of Hornellsville, now citv of Hornell, 1830 ; in West Union, 1831 ; in the town of Caton, 1833, and in Bradford, 1834. A Christ…
A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people1911 · page 193Read the page →
Read the text

Rev. Asa Orcutt in 1825 ; in the same year in the towns of Thurston and Tuscarora ; in the towns of Addison and Campbell, 1827 ; in the town of Fremont, 1828 ; in the town of Hornellsville, now citv of Hornell, 1830 ; in West Union, 1831 ; in the town of Caton, 1833, and in Bradford, 1834. A Christian church was planted at the town of Avoca in Buchannan's barn by Elder Calvin French in 1811.

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

Caton, 1832 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832Post officeThe Wormley's post office opens
  3. 1839
    FoundingCaton is established
  4. 1847Born hereDeacon White is born here
  5. 1848Post officeThe Wormley's post office closes
  6. 1848Post officeThe Caton post office opens
  7. 1854Born hereWill White is born here
  8. 1863Born hereLucien Grant Berry is born here
  9. 1873In the archiveCaton Center (Village); Caton Business Notices.; Caton (Township)
  10. 1888Post officeThe West Caton post office opens
  11. 20th century
  12. 1908Post officeThe Caton post office closes
  13. 1910Post officeThe West Caton post office closes
  14. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 1921Born hereDonald E. Adams is born here
  16. 21st century
  17. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 2,179
By decade

Caton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Caton Center (Village); Caton Business Notices.; Caton (Township)1873Caton Center (Village); Caton Business Notices.; Cato…
Today3 recent
Caton Town Hall2022Caton Town HallUntitled photo2017Untitled photoNY 225 south in2009NY 225 south in
On the map

Caton on the map, 1914 to 1969

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

Caton on the 1914 USGS mapCaton on the 1944 USGS mapCaton on the 1953 USGS mapCaton on the 1969 USGS map1914Corning 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 Caton.

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.

Caton Center (Village); Caton Business Notices.; Caton (Township)
Retake this viewCaton Center (Village); Caton Business Notices.; Caton (Township), 1873

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

5 famous people were born in Caton

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

See all →
Deacon WhiteAmerican baseball player and manager · b. 1847
Will WhiteAmerican baseball player, pitcher, manager · b. 1854
Donald E. AdamsUnited States Korean War flying ace · b. 1921
Lucien Grant BerryUnited States Army general · b. 1863
E
Elmer WhiteAmerican baseball player · b. 1849
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

LindleyIts storyCSouthportIts storyBCorningIts storyB

Questions about Caton’s history

What year was Caton founded?

In 1839, according to Wikidata. Caton’s post office opened in 1832, and the census of 1840 counted 797 people here.

How does Caton rank for history?

Caton is more historic than 69% 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.

How old are the homes in Caton?

35% of Caton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 (4), 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 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.