The story
Read it all →How Eagle came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Eagle.
The town of Eagle was established in 1817 from a division of the town of Arcade.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
BHistory
History · Eagle
Eagle dates to 1817, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1923 on and the census since 1840.
1817founded
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Eagle began
When was Eagle founded?
1817
Eagle dates its founding to 1817 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1840.
First census: 1,187 in 18402020 census: 1,105209 years
How historic is Eagle?
B
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Eagle’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eagle is more historic than 56% 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 Eagle’s overall grade.
Founding era1817, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194018.9% of homes (±7.5) · 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 56%
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 Eagle’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 (±7.5 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 Eagle’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 Eagle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Eagle, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1817: 209 years of Eagle.On the map since 19233 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1979. Watch Eagle change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Eagle’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eagle’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 and burying grounds
Eagle had its own post office from 1826 to 1933. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Eagle
Eagle Village
Bliss
Wing
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BlissHowesWing
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Eagle
Eagle VillageLyonsburg
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Eagle, 1817 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1817FoundingEagle is established
- 1826Post officeThe Eagle post office opens
- 1849Post officeThe Eagle Village post office opens
- 1881Post officeThe Bliss post office opens
- 1892Post officeThe Eagle Village post office closes
- 20th century
- 1923
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1933Post officeThe Eagle post office closes
By decade
Eagle, decade by decade
2021
2015On the map
Eagle on the map, 1923 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Eagle. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1923Arcade 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 Eagle.
People over time
Eagle, census by census
Between 868 and 1,381 people in every census since 1840.
18 censuses, 1840–2010.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Eagle’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Eagle
Nobody well known was born in Eagle itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Eagle’s history
What year was Eagle founded?
In 1817, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Eagle’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1840 counted 1,187 people here.
How does Eagle rank for history?
Eagle is more historic than 56% 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 Eagle?
19% of Eagle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, 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.