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AHistory
History · Edmeston

Edmeston’s post office opened in 1816, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Rutherford House. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1820.

1816first post office
1on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Edmeston’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Edmeston began

When was Edmeston founded?

1816

The Edmeston post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, North Edmeston (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,841 in 18202020 census: 1,907210 years

How historic is Edmeston?

A

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Edmeston post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Edmeston’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edmeston is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Edmeston’s overall grade.
Founding era1816, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194049.5% of homes (±6.5) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 9.4 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 88%
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 Edmeston’s 9.4 sits near the middle of its state (44% of New York towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Edmeston’s past

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

Then and now2 places photographed years apart.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Edmeston, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Edmeston’s homes were built before 1942.On the map since 19103 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1994. Watch Edmeston change.
★ What stands out · Then & now

The same spot, 82 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Edmeston NY Dist 13 School Interior aEdmeston NY Dist 03 N St School19232005
Edmeston NY Dist 03 N St SchoolMatched from the two captions
Edmeston NY Dist 13 School Interior bEdmeston NY Dist 07 School19232005
Edmeston NY Dist 07 SchoolMatched from the two captions
Places that used to be

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

Edmeston’s post office has been open since 1816. Another post office, North Edmeston, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Edmeston
1816–today
West Edmeston
1835–today
South Edmeston
1840–today
North Edmeston
1877–1905
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Amblers CrossingNorth EdmestonRobinson CornersSouth EdmestonWest Edmeston
Gone or out of use
School Number 7schoolSchool Number 8school
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Edmeston
BassDemmingGazlayJenningsTaylor HillUnion

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

The story

How Edmeston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Edmeston.

Read it all →

The town of Edmeston, in Otsego County, extends to the west as far as the Unadilla River, a line that was established by the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix between the British and the Iroquois, negotiated by Sir William Johnson. The town's name came from the brothers, Robert and William Edmeston, who had been granted 10,000 acres (40 km2) of land in what is now the northwest corner of the town. The hamlets of West Edmeston and South Edmeston are situated in the Unadilla Valley, while the hamlet of Edmeston lies in the Wharton Valley. Earlier settlers came from New England; for most of the settlers, it was planned as a stopover on their way west. A strong Baptist influence came with the settlers. Universalists, Methodists and Roman Catholics soon arrived.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Edmeston, 1816 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816Post officeThe Edmeston post office opens
  3. 1828Born hereWilliam Clarke Whitford is born here
  4. 1835Post officeThe West Edmeston post office opens
  5. 1840Post officeThe South Edmeston post office opens
  6. 1868In the archiveEdmeston Centre (Village); Edmeston Business Directory.; West Edmeston (Village); Cherry …
  7. 20th century
  8. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1920In the archiveEdmeston NY Dist 01 Carr School 1920-23
By decade

Edmeston, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Edmeston Centre (Village); Edmeston Business Directory.; West Edmeston (Village); Cherry Valley Business Directory.; Ch…1868Edmeston Centre (Village); Edmeston Business Director…
1920s9 items
Edmeston NY Dist 01 Carr School 1920-231920Edmeston NY Dist 01 Carr School 1920-23Edmeston NY Dist 01 Carr Schoolc. 1921Edmeston NY Dist 01 Carr SchoolEdmeston NY Dist 02 Tucker School1923Edmeston NY Dist 02 Tucker SchoolEdmeston NY Dist 03 N St School1923Edmeston NY Dist 03 N St SchoolEdmeston NY Dist 07 School1923Edmeston NY Dist 07 SchoolEdmeston NY Dist 08 Wrights Corner N Ed School Int1923Edmeston NY Dist 08 Wrights Corner N Ed School IntEdmeston NY Dist 08 Wrights Corner N Ed School1923Edmeston NY Dist 08 Wrights Corner N Ed SchoolEdmeston NY Dist 12 Summit Lake School a1923Edmeston NY Dist 12 Summit Lake School aEdmeston NY Dist 12 Summit Lake School b1923Edmeston NY Dist 12 Summit Lake School b
1930s–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
Today8 recent
Edmeston NY Taylor Hill Church 12005Edmeston NY Taylor Hill Church 1Edmeston NY Otsego School2005Edmeston NY Otsego SchoolEdmeston NY Mager Mitchell House2005Edmeston NY Mager Mitchell HouseEdmeston NY Five Sisters looking south2005Edmeston NY Five Sisters looking southEdmeston NY Five Sisters looking north2005Edmeston NY Five Sisters looking northEdmeston NY Dist 13 School Interior b2005Edmeston NY Dist 13 School Interior bEdmeston NY Dist 13 School Interior a2005Edmeston NY Dist 13 School Interior aEdmeston NY 2nd Baptist 12005Edmeston NY 2nd Baptist 1
On the map

Edmeston on the map, 1910 to 1994

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

Edmeston on the 1910 USGS mapEdmeston on the 1943 USGS mapEdmeston on the 1994 USGS map1910Hartwick 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 Edmeston.

Every building

Edmeston, building by building, 1910

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 sheet.

Edmeston fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Edmeston

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2019
Rutherford House
Rutherford House
Buildings
All 1 listings
Rutherford HouseBuilding · listed 2019

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Edmeston, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001850190019502000Peak: 2,087

Between 1,553 and 2,087 people in every census since 1820.

20 censuses, 1820–2010.

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

Help out

Finish Edmeston’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 viewEdmeston Centre (Village); Edmeston Bus…: 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.

Columbus1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrookfield1 historic placeASouth EdmestonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBurlington1 historic placeA−Pittsfield1 historic placeAPlainfield1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBurlington FlatsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Edmeston’s history

What year was Edmeston founded?

The Edmeston post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Edmeston rank for history?

Edmeston is more historic than 88% 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.

What is on the National Register in Edmeston?

One place: the Rutherford House (listed 2019).

How old are the homes in Edmeston?

50% of Edmeston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1942.

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 Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.