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BHistory
History · Dansville

Dansville dates to 1796, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1820.

1796founded
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dansville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dansville began

When was Dansville founded?

1796

Dansville dates its founding to 1796 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 1,565 in 18202020 census: 1,835230 years

How historic is Dansville?

B

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1823.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dansville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dansville is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dansville’s overall grade.
Founding era1796, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194019.6% of homes (±5.0) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National 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 57%
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 Dansville’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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1796.
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 (±5.0 points).

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 Dansville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1940, then more than doubled.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Dansville, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers, 1890–1900.On the map since 19153 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1978. Watch Dansville change.
★ What stands out · People over time

Dansville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00018501900195020002,725 in 1840Low: 794

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1940, then more than doubled.

20 censuses, 1820–2010.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dansville’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

South Dansville
1823–1937
Doty's Corners
1826–1888
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BeachvilleMeadows Mobile Home ParkRogersvilleSouth Dansville
Gone or out of use
Brownson SchoolschoolHealey SchoolschoolSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 9school
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Dansville
BeachvilleBluff PointDoty's CornersGreenlawnOak HillRogersville Forest Lawn

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

By decade

Dansville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s9 items
Dansville, N.Y1890Dansville, N.YJackson Sanatorium1890Jackson SanatoriumElizabeth Street1890Elizabeth StreetUpper entrance, Poagshole1890Upper entrance, PoagsholeShawmut Bridge, above Dansville, N.Y1890Shawmut Bridge, above Dansville, N.YLower entrance, Stony Brook Glen1890Lower entrance, Stony Brook GlenStony Brook glen, Shawmut Bridge1890Stony Brook glen, Shawmut BridgeBig falls, Stony Brook Glen1890Big falls, Stony Brook GlenThe Conaseraga [i.e. Canaseraga], Poagshole1890The Conaseraga [i.e. Canaseraga], Poagshole
1900s6 items
Dansville, N.Y1900Dansville, N.YElizabeth Street1900Elizabeth StreetThe Drive, Poagshole1900The Drive, PoagsholeThe Drive, Poagshole1900The Drive, PoagsholeThe Narrows, Poagshole1900The Narrows, PoagsholeThe Narrows, Poagshole, near Dansville, N.Y1900The Narrows, Poagshole, near Dansville, N.Y
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
The story

How Dansville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dansville.

Read it all →

The town was formed, along with the county, in 1796 as one of the original towns in the county, but was not settled until circa 1804. Daniel P. Faulkner, a prominent citizen, was popularly called "Captain Dan".

The Town of Dansville was used to form, in whole or part, the Towns of Cohocton, Howard (both in 1812), Wayland (1848), and Fremont (1854). In 1822, part of the town, including the Village of Dansville, was annexed to the Town of Sparta in Livingston County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Dansville in 1911

Passages that mention Dansville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

For many years spirited efforts were made by the inhabitants of the unannexed part of the town of Dansville to retain that name for the then recent postoffice, established in the part of the town remaining in Steuben county. In 1824, upon a petition of the inhabitants of the village of South Dansvi…
A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people1911 · page 155Read the page →
Read the text

For many years spirited efforts were made by the inhabitants of the unannexed part of the town of Dansville to retain that name for the then recent postoffice, established in the part of the town remaining in Steuben county. In 1824, upon a petition of the inhabitants of the village of South Dansville, in the old county, the name of the Dansville postoffice was changed to South Sparta, and the name of Dansville postoffice was transferred to South Dansville. As these names remained for some time, the result was confusion in the deliv-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The limits of Steuben county were again reduced by the legislature of Xew York in 1822, by which act territory three miles square was taken from the northwest corner of the town of Dansville (one of the original towns of Steuben county) and annexed to the town of Sparta, Livingston county. This par…
A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people1911 · page 153Read the page →
Read the text

The limits of Steuben county were again reduced by the legislature of Xew York in 1822, by which act territory three miles square was taken from the northwest corner of the town of Dansville (one of the original towns of Steuben county) and annexed to the town of Sparta, Livingston county. This part embraced the village of Dansville, which contained all the inhabitants of the town at that time, and thereby becomes pertinent to this history.

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

Dansville, 1796 to 1937

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1796
    FoundingDansville is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1823Post officeThe South Dansville post office opens
  5. 1826Post officeThe Doty's Corners post office opens
  6. 1840CensusPopulation peaks at 2,725
  7. 1888Post officeThe Doty's Corners post office closes
  8. 1890In the archiveDansville, N.Y
  9. 20th century
  10. 1900In the archiveDansville, N.Y
  11. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1937Post officeThe South Dansville post office closes
On the map

Dansville on the map, 1915 to 1978

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dansville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Dansville on the 1915 USGS mapDansville on the 1965 USGS mapDansville on the 1978 USGS map1915Hornell 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 Dansville.

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.

Dansville, N.Y
Retake this viewDansville, N.Y, 1890

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dansville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Dansville

Nobody well known was born in Dansville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Bill PullmanAmerican actor · b. 1953
Pete ParadaAmerican drummer · b. 1974
Frank Kelly FreasAmerican artist · b. 1922
Robert D. HolmesAmerican politician · b. 1909
Baird Thomas Spalding(1872-1953) American writer · b. 1857
Alfred Thomas AgateAmerican artist · b. 1812
Help out

Finish Dansville’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDansville, N.Y: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

FremontIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWaylandIts storyB−Burns1 historic placeANorth Dansville6 historic placesA+Ossian1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHornellsvilleIts storyB

Questions about Dansville’s history

What year was Dansville founded?

In 1796, according to Wikidata. Dansville’s post office opened in 1823, and the census of 1820 counted 1,565 people here.

How does Dansville rank for history?

Dansville is more historic than 57% 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 Dansville?

20% of Dansville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1982.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 the Library of Congress (15), Wikipedia, 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 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.