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History · Cattaraugus

Cattaraugus’ post office opened in 1828, and 76% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1880.

1828first post office
1on the National Register
76%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cattaraugus’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cattaraugus began, and where its name came from

When was Cattaraugus founded?

1828

The Cattaraugus post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 705 in 18802020 census: 960198 years

How did Cattaraugus get its name?

Cattaraugus’s name derives from Cattaraugus Creek.

Founding year: the first Cattaraugus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Cattaraugus’ past

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

Old housesHalf of Cattaraugus’ homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,382 in 1900; 960 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1891 to 1913, drew every building in Cattaraugus.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Cattaraugus.
★ What stands out · The story

How Cattaraugus came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cattaraugus.

Read it all →

In 1828, the brothers Calvin and Arad Rich settled in the hills surrounding the area. Cattaraugus developed most after the arrival of the Erie Railroad in 1851. Shortly after, the village became a boomtown growing to 1,500 inhabitants and even being visited by US President Millard Fillmore. By 1860 the township boasted 305 dwellings, 1557 oxen, 383 horses, and 8 school districts with 649 children in school. In the same year, it is well documented Abraham Lincoln had come to visit. Other prominent visitors include US Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt. As well as Mark Twain who then named his housecat “Cattaraugus" The village was incorporated in 1882. Its name derives from Cattaraugus Creek.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Cattaraugus, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,382

Peaked at 1,382 in 1900; 960 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Cattaraugus, building by building, 1891–1913

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.

Cattaraugus fire insurance map, 1891, sheet 11891Sheet 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.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Cattaraugus in 1925

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

Horace Snyder in 1830 made the first clearing on the site of the village of Cattaraugus, incorporated in 1882, and manufactured potash from the timber. The Bank of Cattaraugus was organized in 1882, and the Cattaraugus Times began publication in 1884.
History of the Genesee country (western New York) comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates1925 · page 1200Read the page →
Read the text

Horace Snyder in 1830 made the first clearing on the site of the village of Cattaraugus, incorporated in 1882, and manufactured potash from the timber. The Bank of Cattaraugus was organized in 1882, and the Cattaraugus Times began publication in 1884.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
became a part of Tryon County, later renamed Montgomery, then, in succession, a part of Whitestown, Ontario County, the town of Northampton, Genesee County, and Allegany County. By the act of March 11, 1808, the counties of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara were erected. The town of Olean, until …
History of the Genesee country (western New York) comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates1925 · page 1191Read the page →
Read the text

became a part of Tryon County, later renamed Montgomery, then, in succession, a part of Whitestown, Ontario County, the town of Northampton, Genesee County, and Allegany County. By the act of March 11, 1808, the counties of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara were erected. The town of Olean, until 1812, compre¬ hended the entire county of Cattaraugus, and until the latter year was the only town in the county. Then Ischua was set off, and two years later parts of both were used to make the town of

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

Cattaraugus, 1832 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832Born hereAlexander Chambers is born here
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,382
  5. 1910In the archiveManufacturing district
  6. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Cattaraugus, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s9 items
Manufacturing district1910Manufacturing districtAcademy Park1910Academy ParkThe old and the new school houses at Cattaraugus, N.Y1910The old and the new school houses at Cattaraugus, N.YWest side, Main St1910West side, Main StOn the Erie entering Cattaraugus, N.Y1910On the Erie entering Cattaraugus, N.YRock bottom looking south east1910Rock bottom looking south eastThe depot and manufacturing district1910The depot and manufacturing districtFrom the Erie R.R. [railroad] looking north1910From the Erie R.R. [railroad] looking northOn the line of the Erie, toward Dayton, N.Y1910On the line of the Erie, toward Dayton, N.Y
1920s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Erie Railway, Collins Station, Collins, Erie County, NYDate?Erie Railway, Collins Station, Collins, Erie County, …
On the map

Cattaraugus on the map, 1923 to 1963

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

Cattaraugus on the 1923 USGS mapCattaraugus on the 1938 USGS mapCattaraugus on the 1941 USGS mapCattaraugus on the 1963 USGS map1923Cattaraugus 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 Cattaraugus.

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.

Manufacturing district
Retake this viewManufacturing district, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 19 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
19
each building in a district counts

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

Help out

Finish Cattaraugus’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewManufacturing district: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Cattaraugus’ history

What year was Cattaraugus founded?

The Cattaraugus post office opened in 1828, 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 the Library of Congress (10), Wikidata (1), 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.