Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cuba’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cuba is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cuba’s 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 Cuba’s 454 sits above most of its state (91% of New York towns have fewer) while its 82 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.8 points). Two sources give 1822.
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 Cuba’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Town of Cuba was formed in 1822 from part of the town of Friendship. In 1830, Cuba was reduced by the formation of the town of Genesee. In 1835, Cuba was partitioned again to form the town of Clarksville.
Formerly known as Township 3 Range 2 of the Holland Land Purchase, the settlement of Cuba began in 1817, and the town was separated in 1822, and a village incorporated in 1850. Between 1810 and the late 1820s the place saw a boom in both settlement and population as many of the town's first businesses, churches and schools were established.
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.
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Cuba in 1916
Passages that mention Cuba, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The early history of Cuba, 1492-15861916 · page 197Read the page →
Read the text
letting it out under contract was soon inaugurated and in provisions of these contracts Cuba was not neglected. By 1518 the settlers in Cuba expressed the opinion that every white resident should have the right to import six black slaves, three males and three females, "to remedy the matter of population." The crown suspected that under one concession requiring delivery in Cuba of 700 slaves, even more than the
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
Cuba, 1822 to 1901
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1822, according to Wikidata. Cuba’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1830 counted 1,059 people here.
How does Cuba rank for history?
Cuba is more historic than 98% 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 Cuba?
54% of Cuba’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (11), 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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