Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #297 of 758 in New York. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1860.
Dannemora dates its founding to 1838 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dannemora is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #297 of 758 in New York. 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 Dannemora’s 7.5 sits near the middle of its state (41% of New York towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dannemora’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Dannemora.
The area was first colonized circa 1838. Clinton Correctional Facility was opened in the area in 1845, so as to utilize the prisoners in local mining operations. The town of Dannemora was formed in 1854 from the town of Beekmantown.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Peaked at 6,362 in 1940; 4,037 people lived here in 2020.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dannemora’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Dannemora, Clinton County, New York. LOC sanborn05872 001
In the archiveMess hall, Clinton Prison
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dannemora. 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 Dannemora.
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.
1896Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No 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 Dannemora’s 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.
In 1838, according to Wikidata. Dannemora’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1860 counted 1,271 people here.
Dannemora is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #297 of 758 in New York. 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 Dannemora’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±14.5 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 (6), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1896
1919
2015
2007
2007
