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History · Cincinnatus

Cincinnatus dates to 1795, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 27 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1820.

1795founded
1on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cincinnatus’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cincinnatus began

When was Cincinnatus founded?

1795

Cincinnatus dates its founding to 1795 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 885 in 18202020 census: 902231 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1811.The full story ↓

What stands out about Cincinnatus’ past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,308 in 1830; 910 people lived here in 2020.A historic districtThe Cincinnatus Historic District takes in 27 historic buildings.Deep rootsEstablished in 1795: 231 years of Cincinnatus.Old housesHalf of Cincinnatus’ homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · People over time

Cincinnatus, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001850190019502000Peak: 1,308

Peaked at 1,308 in 1830; 910 people lived here in 2020.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

On the National Register

1 listing protects 27 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
27
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Cincinnatus Historic District
Cincinnatus Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Italianate1
Queen Anne1
Greek Revival1
Neo-Georgian1
Carpenter Gothic1
Cincinnatus Historic DistrictFederal

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

Timeline

Cincinnatus, 1795 to 1933

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1795
    FoundingCincinnatus is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1811Post officeThe Cincinnatus post office opens
  5. 1819Born hereJeremiah W. Dwight is born here
  6. 1830CensusPopulation peaks at 1,308
  7. 1860Born hereElmer Ambrose Sperry is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1901Post officeThe Geebrook post office opens
  10. 1902Post officeThe Geebrook post office closes
  11. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1933In the archiveEAST REAR - Colonel John Kingman House, Main Street
The story

How Cincinnatus came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cincinnatus.

Read it all →

The region was part of the Central New York Military Tract used to pay soldiers of the American Revolution. One of the townships was named Cincinnatus. Members of the Oneida tribe persisted in the town during its early history.

The town was first settled circa 1795. It was one of the original six towns of Cortland County. The town was formed from the town of Solon in 1804. In 1818, Cincinnatus was split so that part of its territory was used to create the towns of Freetown, Willet, and Marathon.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Cincinnatus in 1859

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

Freetown was organized April 21st, 1818. It comprises the north-western quarter of the old military township of Cincinnatus, and lot No. 20 from the eastern part of Virgil. The soil is a clay loam, better adapted to grazing than grain growing ; but more recently has produced good crops of corn, oat…
Pioneer history1859 · page 219Read the page →
Read the text

Freetown was organized April 21st, 1818. It comprises the north-western quarter of the old military township of Cincinnatus, and lot No. 20 from the eastern part of Virgil. The soil is a clay loam, better adapted to grazing than grain growing ; but more recently has produced good crops of corn, oats, barley, flax, and potatoes ; wheat not being grown here to any considerable extent. Freetown is situated on a ridge between

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.

By decade

Cincinnatus, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
EAST REAR - Colonel John Kingman House, Main Street1933EAST REAR - Colonel John Kingman House, Main Street
1940s–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 unknown4 to date
INTERIOR, DETAIL OF TYPICAL DOORWAY MOLDING - Colonel John Kingman House, Main StreetDate?INTERIOR, DETAIL OF TYPICAL DOORWAY MOLDING - Colonel…WEST FRONT - Colonel John Kingman House, Main StreetDate?WEST FRONT - Colonel John Kingman House, Main StreetWEST FRONT AND SOUTH SIDE - Colonel John Kingman House, Main StreetDate?WEST FRONT AND SOUTH SIDE - Colonel John Kingman Hous…Colonel John Kingman House, Main StreetDate?Colonel John Kingman House, Main Street
Today1 recent
Dairy46672007Dairy4667
On the map

Cincinnatus on the map, 1904 to 1943

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

Cincinnatus on the 1904 USGS mapCincinnatus on the 1943 USGS map1904Pitcher 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 Cincinnatus.

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.

EAST REAR - Colonel John Kingman House, Main Street
Retake this viewEAST REAR - Colonel John Kingman House, Main Street, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Cincinnatus

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

See all →
Elmer Ambrose SperryAmerican mechanical engineer · b. 1860
Jeremiah W. DwightAmerican politician · b. 1819
Places that used to be

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

Cincinnatus’s post office has been open since 1811. Another post office, Geebrook, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cincinnatus
1811–today
Geebrook
1901–1902
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Gee BrookLower Cincinnatus
Gone or out of use
School Number 7school
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cincinnatus
CincinnatusHolmesLower Cincinnatus

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

Help out

Start Cincinnatus’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cincinnatus’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewEAST REAR - Colonel John Kingman House,…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Taylor3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWilletIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFreetownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cincinnatus’ history

What year was Cincinnatus founded?

In 1795, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cincinnatus’ post office opened in 1811, and the census of 1820 counted 885 people here.

What is on the National Register in Cincinnatus?

One place: the Cincinnatus Historic District (listed 1984).

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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), 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 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.