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B−History
History · Celoron

Celoron dates to 1896, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1900.

1896founded
0on the National Register
57%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Celoron’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Celoron began

When was Celoron founded?

1896

Celoron dates its founding to 1896 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 506 in 19002020 census: 1,069130 years

How historic is Celoron?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1897.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Celoron’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Celoron is more historic than 52% 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 Celoron’s overall grade.
Founding era1896, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194057.4% of homes (±13.7) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A+National 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 52%
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 Celoron’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 D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±13.7 points). Two sources give 1896.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Celoron’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.Old housesHalf of Celoron’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,555 in 1950; 1,069 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1979. Watch Celoron change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Celoron’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Celoron’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 viewCeleron [i.e. Celoron] from Greenhurst,…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Celoron came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Celoron.

Read it all →

Celoron Park was an amusement park, built by the Broadhead family in either 1893 or 1894, prior to the formation of the village. Celoron Park was designed with inspiration from the amusement parks at Coney Island and Atlantic City. Celoron Park closed in 1962.

The village of Celoron was incorporated in 1896. The name of the village comes from that of French officer and explorer of Ohio Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville.

Beginning in 1898, it was the home of the Acme Giants baseball team.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Celoron, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,555

Peaked at 1,555 in 1950; 1,069 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Celoron in 1921

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

Celoron, also an incorporated village, had in 1915 (State census) a population of 720. The village is charmingly located on Lake Chautauqua at its southern end, and there a beauti-
History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people1921Read the page →
Read the text

Celoron, also an incorporated village, had in 1915 (State census) a population of 720. The village is charmingly located on Lake Chautauqua at its southern end, and there a beauti-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
choruses were organized at different times, and directed by Judson W. Breed, Judge John J. Kinney, Mme. Walbridge, whose society gave "The Messiah" at Celoron, directed by Strelezki, of Buffalo; and Willebald Lehmann. whose chorus prepared "The Chimes of Normandy" for public production.
History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people1921 · page 396Read the page →
Read the text

choruses were organized at different times, and directed by Judson W. Breed, Judge John J. Kinney, Mme. Walbridge, whose society gave "The Messiah" at Celoron, directed by Strelezki, of Buffalo; and Willebald Lehmann. whose chorus prepared "The Chimes of Normandy" for public production.

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

Celoron, 1880 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archiveCeleron [i.e. Celoron] from Greenhurst, Lake Chautauqua
  3. 1896
    FoundingCeloron is established
  4. 1898In the archiveCeleron [i.e. Celoron], Lake Chautauqua
  5. 20th century
  6. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,555
By decade

Celoron, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s2 items
Celeron [i.e. Celoron] from Greenhurst, Lake Chautauqua1880Celeron [i.e. Celoron] from Greenhurst, Lake Chautauq…Celeron [i.e. Celoron], Lake Chautauqua1898Celeron [i.e. Celoron], Lake Chautauqua
1900s–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
Playground at Lucille Ball Park Celoron NY 2025-09-04 17-15-132025Playground at Lucille Ball Park Celoron NY 2025-09-04…Lucille Ball Memorial Park sign Celoron NY 2025-09-04 17-12-58 12025Lucille Ball Memorial Park sign Celoron NY 2025-09-04…Celoron Veterans Memorial Celoron NY 2025-09-04 17-14-44 12025Celoron Veterans Memorial Celoron NY 2025-09-04 17-14…Celoron NY welcome sign 2025-09-04 17-09-12 12025Celoron NY welcome sign 2025-09-04 17-09-12 1Celoron NY village hall 2025-09-04 17-14-002025Celoron NY village hall 2025-09-04 17-14-00Celoron NY Post Office 20250-9-04 17-13-402025Celoron NY Post Office 20250-9-04 17-13-40GMC Sonoma SLE (1997)2024GMC Sonoma SLE (1997)Chrysler LeBaron GTC Cabriolet (1994)2024Chrysler LeBaron GTC Cabriolet (1994)Chautauqua Lake (Jamestown, NY)2022Chautauqua Lake (Jamestown, NY)
On the map

Celoron on the map, 1904 to 1979

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

Celoron on the 1904 USGS mapCeloron on the 1941 USGS mapCeloron on the 1954 USGS mapCeloron on the 1979 USGS map1904Chautauqua 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 Celoron.

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.

Celeron [i.e. Celoron] from Greenhurst, Lake Chautauqua
Retake this viewCeleron [i.e. Celoron] from Greenhurst, Lake Chautauqua, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

EllicottIts storyB+Jamestown WestIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJamestown11 historic placesA+

Questions about Celoron’s history

What year was Celoron founded?

In 1896, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Celoron’s post office opened in 1897, and the census of 1900 counted 506 people here.

How does Celoron rank for history?

Celoron is more historic than 52% 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 Celoron?

57% of Celoron’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.

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 (9), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.