Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0More historic than 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.
Clifton Springs dates its founding to 1801 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clifton Springs is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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 Clifton Springs’ 26.4 sits near the middle of its state (60% of New York towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
From Wikipedia’s history of Clifton Springs.
The location was first settled around 1801, and much of the early community endeavors exploited the sulfur springs as a health spa. The village was incorporated in 1859.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clifton Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Clifton Springs.
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.
1886Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Passages that mention Clifton Springs, cut from the printed page as they were published.
At the present time the village of Clifton Springs presents an appearance fully as attractive as any municipality of the county. It is in no sense a busy manufacturing place; such has not been the aim of its founders and promoters, but as a quiet resorting place for persons seeking rest and recuperation, Clifton Springs has become famous thioughout the land. The public buildings include five churches, two good schools (one public and one select), a water supply system, and a fire department. The village population numbers about 1500, and its mer-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
St. Agnes' Roman Catholic Church at Clifton Springs was organized, and the parish also, in 1856, and during the same year the church edifice was built. For several years this church was an outstation, and Father McDermer was the first resident priest. The present priest is Father Patrick Lee.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereGeorge Dayton is born here
Born hereCharles Hawes is born here
In the archiveClifton Springs, N.Y
Born hereLynn Waldorf is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveClifton Springs Sanitarium ("American medical directory", 1906 advert)2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookNo then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Clifton Springs’ page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 746 and 2,223 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Clifton Springs’ Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
In 1801, according to Wikidata. Clifton Springs’ post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1870 counted 746 people here.
Clifton Springs is more historic than 93% 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.
67% of Clifton Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (15), the Library of Congress (3), 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.
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