The Conesus post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Freeport (1811), Bowersville (1824) and Alger (1895), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,288 in 18202020 census: 2,320201 years
How historic is Conesus?
A−
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Conesus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Conesus’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Conesus is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Conesus’ overall grade.
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 Conesus’ 42.8 sits above most of its state (66% of New York towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). 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 Conesus’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Settlement began circa 1795. In 1819, Conesus was formed from parts of the towns of Groveland and Livonia as the town Freeport. The name was changed to "Bowersville" in March 1825 and was changed to "Conesus" a month later.
Conesus is home to the former St. Michael's Mission, a school for Catholic priests that operated from the 1930s until the 1970s. The sprawling complex on Mission Road is now owned by an evangelical Christian church from Colorado Springs.
The town is also the location of O-Neh-Da Vineyard, which has roots back to 1872 and is one of the last wineries in the country to make sacramental wine from their own vineyards.
Passages that mention Conesus, cut from the printed page as they were published.
1687. History of Livingston County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1881 · page 54Read the page →
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Kanagksaws* (Conesus,) an Indian village consisting of eighteen houses, on the east side of Conesus Inlet, a short distance from the head of Conesus Lake, and about a mile north-west of Conesus Center, on the north and south road crossing the McMillan farm. The main part of the army, being impeded by the rain, encamped nearly two miles north, on the flats south-west of Foot's
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present1905 · page 719Read the page →
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In the early years of the town of Conesus the people were without religious privileges. It was but infrequently that an itinerant preacher held services in a school house or barn. The Presbyterians occasionally conducted services at what was then known as Buel Hill, in the town of Livonia, to which the pioneers of Conesus resorted.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present1905 · page 524Read the page →
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On November 10th, 1880, George F. Coe, of Conesus, Supervisor of that town, who had been a few days previously elected Chairman of the Board, was found dead near the railroad track a short distance north of the railroad station at Conesus Center. The cause of death was apoplexv. Mr. Coe was sixty-four years of age; he had for many
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1687. History of Livingston County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1881Read the page →
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The church was built at Union Corners, on land owned by Timothy DeGraw. Here the society worshipped until the erection in 1873 of a more commodious church in the village of Conesus Center. This church was dedicated by Rev. W. B. Randolph in March, 1874.
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
Conesus, 1811 to 2010
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Conesus. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Wayland 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 Conesus.
Every building
Conesus, building by building, 1898–1913
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.
1898Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
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.
Retake this viewSummer Day on Conesus Lake, 1870
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Conesus’ page.
The Conesus post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Conesus rank for history?
Conesus is more historic than 84% 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.
What is on the National Register in Conesus?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Conesus Amusement Hall (listed 2005, the first). 8 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Conesus?
20% of Conesus’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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, 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.
Date?
2024
2014
