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History · Cayuta

Cayuta’s post office opened in 1821, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1820.

1821first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: PottyBot · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Cayuta began

When was Cayuta founded?

1821

The Cayuta post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, West Cayuta (1832), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,889 in 18202020 census: 508205 years
Founding year: the first Cayuta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Cayuta’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18933 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1969. Watch Cayuta change.Deep rootsA post office since 1821: 205 years of Cayuta.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cayuta’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cayuta’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 viewCatharine Business Notices.; Odessa (Vi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Cayuta on the map, 1893 to 1969

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

Cayuta on the 1893 USGS mapCayuta on the 1950 USGS mapCayuta on the 1969 USGS map1893Ithaca 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 Cayuta.

Timeline

Cayuta, 1821 to 1893

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1821Post officeThe Cayuta post office opens
  3. 1832Post officeThe West Cayuta post office opens
  4. 1860Post officeThe West Cayuta post office closes
  5. 1874In the archiveCatharine Business Notices.; Odessa (Village); Beaver Dams (Village); Catharine (Village)…
  6. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Cayuta came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cayuta.

Read it all →

The first pioneers arrived circa 1798 near the community of Cayuta.

The town was created from part of the Town of Spencer (Tioga County) in 1824, before the formation of Schuyler County. The size was increased in 1854 by the addition of parts of two other towns: Catharine and Erin (then both in Chemung County). In the same year, Schuyler County was created, and Cayuta was included in the new county.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Cayuta, decade by decade

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

1870s2 items
Catharine Business Notices.; Odessa (Village); Beaver Dams (Village); Catharine (Village); Cayutaville (Village)1874Catharine Business Notices.; Odessa (Village); Beaver…Cayuta Business Notices.; Cayuta (Township); Alpine (Village)1874Cayuta Business Notices.; Cayuta (Township); Alpine (…
Today2 recent
Cayuta2022CayutaCayuta Scenery, June 20172017Cayuta Scenery, June 2017
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.

Catharine Business Notices.; Odessa (Village); Beaver Dams (Village); Catharine (Village); Cayutaville (Village)
Retake this viewCatharine Business Notices.; Odessa (Village); Beaver Dams (Village); Catharine (Village); Cayutaville (Village), 1874

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Cayuta, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001850190019502000Peak: 1,889

Between 258 and 1,889 people in every census since 1820.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Cayuta’s post office has been open since 1821. Another post office, West Cayuta, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cayuta
1821–today
West Cayuta
1832–1860
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alpine Junction
1cemetery inside Cayuta
Ennis

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.

Catharine2 historic placesAVan EttenIts storyB−Erin1 historic placeB+Newfield3 historic placesB+VeteranIts storyB+

Questions about Cayuta’s history

What year was Cayuta founded?

The Cayuta 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.

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 (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.