The story
Read it all →How Covington came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Covington.
The Town of Covington was created in 1817 from the Towns of Perry and Le Roy (in Genesee County).
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B+History
History · Covington
Covington dates to 1817, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1820.
1817founded
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Covington began
When was Covington founded?
1817
Covington dates its founding to 1817 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.
First census: 2,144 in 18202020 census: 1,253209 years
How historic is Covington?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1818.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Covington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Covington is more historic than 70% 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 Covington’s overall grade.
Founding era1817, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194039.1% of homes (±8.1) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational 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 70%
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 Covington’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 C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.1 points). Two sources give 1817.
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 →
What stands out about Covington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Covington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Covington, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,716 in 1830; 1,232 people lived here in 2010.Deep rootsEstablished in 1817: 209 years of Covington.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Covington’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Covington’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Covington had its own post office from 1818 to 1909. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Covington
Peoria
Pearl Creek
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hilltop Acres Mobile Home ParkPaines CornerPearl CreekPeoriaSpragues Corner
Gone or out of use
School Number 1schoolSchool Number 7school
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Covington
Covington PioneerLagrangeMountain AshOlivet
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
Covington, census by census
Peaked at 2,716 in 1830; 1,232 people lived here in 2010.
20 censuses, 1820–2010.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Covington’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Covington, 1817 to 1935
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1817FoundingCovington is established
- 1818Post officeThe Covington post office opens
- 1820Born hereS. Park Coon is born here
- 1830CensusPopulation peaks at 2,716
- 1837Post officeThe Peoria post office opens
- 1852Post officeThe Pearl Creek post office opens
- 20th century
- 1904
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1909Post officeThe Covington post office closes
- 1911Post officeThe Peoria post office closes
- 1935Post officeThe Pearl Creek post office closes
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Covington on the map, 1904 to 1951
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Covington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Batavia sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Covington.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Covington’s history
What year was Covington founded?
In 1817, according to Wikidata. Covington’s post office opened in 1818, and the census of 1820 counted 2,144 people here.
How does Covington rank for history?
Covington is more historic than 70% 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 Covington?
39% of Covington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1962.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.