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B−History
History · Cicero

Cicero’s post office opened in 1821, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #655 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Most of Cicero was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Its Register listing is the Stone Arabia School. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1820.

1821first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cicero’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cicero began

When was Cicero founded?

1821

The Cicero post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Clay (1828) and Cicero Centre (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,303 in 18202020 census: 31,435205 years

How historic is Cicero?

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: the first Cicero post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cicero’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cicero is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #655 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cicero’s overall grade.
Founding era1821, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19406.9% of homes (±1.5) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 0.6 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 14%

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 Cicero’s 0.6 sits below most of its state (21% 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 C to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. 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 Cicero’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.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Cicero, and 8 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18954 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1973. Watch Cicero change.Deep rootsA post office since 1821: 205 years of Cicero.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cicero’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cicero’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 viewHezekiah Joslyn: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

Cicero had its own post office from 1821 to 1990. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cicero
1821–1990
Brewerton
1828–today
Clay
1828–1892
Cicero Centre
1852–1903
Clay
1903–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BrewertonBrown CenterCicero CenterForest BeachKraus LandingLower South BaySandy BayValentines Beach
Gone or out of use
Cobblestone SchoolschoolConway SchoolschoolMichael Field-Onondaga Flight School AirportairportNorth Drive-InlocalePenn Can Mall Shopping CenterlocaleSchool Number 10schoolSouth Bay SchoolschoolStone Arabia SchoolschoolSyracuse Air Force StationmilitaryTaft SchoolschoolVan Anthrup Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cicero
BridgeportCiceroCicero CenterNorth SyracuseRiversideTaftTerpenning

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

On the map

Cicero on the map, 1895 to 1973

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

Cicero on the 1895 USGS mapCicero on the 1940 USGS mapCicero on the 1957 USGS mapCicero on the 1973 USGS map1895Syracuse 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 Cicero.

The story

How Cicero came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cicero.

Read it all →

Cicero was one of the townships of the former Central New York Military Tract, land reserved for soldiers of the American Revolution.

The Town of Cicero was formed in 1790 as a Township in the Military Tract, but was part of the Town of Lysander when Onondaga County was formed in 1794 and was separated from Lysander in 1807. The first settler to arrive was John Leach, who established a tavern at Cody's Corners.

In 1827 the town was split approximately in half, with the western portion of Cicero becoming the Town of Clay.

The Stone Arabia School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cicero, 1817 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1817Born hereJohn F. Benjamin is born here
  3. 1821Post officeThe Cicero post office opens
  4. 1826Born hereMatilda Joslyn Gage is born here
  5. 1828Post officeThe Brewerton post office opens
  6. 1828Post officeThe Clay post office opens
  7. 1834Born hereCharles E. Dyer is born here
  8. 1865In the archiveHezekiah Joslyn
  9. 1892Post officeThe Clay post office closes
  10. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 20th century
  12. 1990Post officeThe Cicero post office closes
  13. 21st century
  14. 2000Born hereJoel Farabee is born here
By decade

Cicero, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Hezekiah Joslyn1865Hezekiah Joslyn
Today11 recent
A sign for a long-defunct motel near Cicero, New York, that's so rusted it's impossible even to read the place's name2018A sign for a long-defunct motel near Cicero, New York…Geese on a pond near Cicero, New York2018Geese on a pond near Cicero, New YorkI-481 Aerial Curve, April 20152015I-481 Aerial Curve, April 2015East beginning of NY 2982007East beginning of NY 298SyracuseResearchC2006SyracuseResearchCPastures housing development in2006Pastures housing development inOneida Lake seen from Yacht Club in2006Oneida Lake seen from Yacht Club inCicerowilliamspark2006CicerowilliamsparkCiceroretail2006CiceroretailCicero, New York Yacht Club2006Cicero, New York Yacht ClubI-481 at Exit 9N2005I-481 at Exit 9N
Every building

Cicero, building by building, 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 sheet.

Cicero fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
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.

Hezekiah Joslyn
Retake this viewHezekiah Joslyn, 1865

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Cicero

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Stone Arabia School
Stone Arabia School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Stone Arabia SchoolGreek Revival

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

People over time

Cicero, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,0001850190019502000Peak: 31,682

Between 1,303 and 31,682 people in every census since 1820.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Cicero

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

See all →
Matilda Joslyn GageAmerican writer, Native American civil rights a… · b. 1826
Joel FarabeeAmerican ice hockey player · b. 2000
John F. BenjaminAmerican politician · b. 1817
Charles E. DyerUnited States federal judge · b. 1834
C
Cyrus Kinne PorterAmerican architect · b. 1828
A
Adelbert EversonMedal of Honor recipient · b. 1841
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Constantia2 historic placesA−Sullivan5 historic placesA−West MonroeIts storyB−Hastings2 historic placesBBridgeportIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClayIts storyDManlius6 historic placesA−Brewerton1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cicero’s history

What year was Cicero founded?

The Cicero post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cicero rank for history?

Cicero is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #655 of 758 in New York. 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 Cicero?

One place: the Stone Arabia School (listed 2007).

How old are the homes in Cicero?

7% of Cicero’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 Library of Congress (2), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.