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BHistory
History · Erwin

Erwin dates to 1786, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #563 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Its Register listings are the US Post Office-Painted Post, the First Baptist Church of Painted Post and the Erwin Town Hall. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1830.

1786founded
3on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Erwin began

When was Erwin founded?

1786

Erwin dates its founding to 1786 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 795 in 18302020 census: 8,095240 years

How historic is Erwin?

B

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Erwin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Erwin is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #563 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Erwin’s overall grade.
Founding era1786, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194012.2% of homes (±2.4) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register3 listings, 3.8 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 26%

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 Erwin’s 3.8 sits below most of its state (31% of New York towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1786.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.

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 Erwin’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages6 hamlets and corners are still on the map.On the map since 19145 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1978. Watch Erwin change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1786: 240 years of Erwin.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Erwin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Erwin’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewErwin (Township): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

Erwin had its own post office from 1826 to 1911.

Painted Post
1800–today
Erwin
1826–1911
Coopers Plains
1844–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Colonial Coach Estates I Mobile Home ParkCoopers PlainsErwinsGang MillsPainted PostVictory Village Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Corning Drive-InlocaleScudder Pitmine
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Erwin
Coopers PlainsErwinsFairviewHigh StreetJones - Erwin

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

On the map

Erwin on the map, 1914 to 1978

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

Erwin on the 1914 USGS mapErwin on the 1944 USGS mapErwin on the 1953 USGS mapErwin on the 1969 USGS mapErwin on the 1978 USGS map1914Corning 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 Erwin.

The story

How Erwin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Erwin.

Read it all →

The first permanent settlement came around 1786, and "Erwin" was listed in the first census of the United States in 1790. The town of Erwin was formed from the former "Town of Painted Post" (now the town of Corning) in 1826. Erwin was reduced to form the town of Lindley (1837), but was increased by a part of the town of Corning in 1856.

The "painted post" was a wooden post discovered in the south part of Steuben County. Its purpose and origin remain controversial.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Erwin in 1911

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

The Presbyterians established a church in the town, now city, of Corning in 1810; in the town of "Wheeler, the same year; in the town of Urbana, 1831 ; in the town of Hornellsville, 1832, and town of Erwin, 1835. Catholic Institutions. Roman Catholic churches were established in Steuben county as f…
A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people1911 · page 194Read the page →
Read the text

The Presbyterians established a church in the town, now city, of Corning in 1810; in the town of "Wheeler, the same year; in the town of Urbana, 1831 ; in the town of Hornellsville, 1832, and town of Erwin, 1835. Catholic Institutions. Roman Catholic churches were established in Steuben county as follows: Town of Urbana, 1840, and town (now city) of Corning, 1842. In the year 1873 a convent was founded in the old

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

Erwin, 1786 to 1914

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1786
    FoundingErwin is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1800Post officeThe Painted Post post office opens
  5. 1826Post officeThe Erwin post office opens
  6. 1844Post officeThe Coopers Plains post office opens
  7. 1873In the archiveErwin (Township)
  8. 20th century
  9. 1911Post officeThe Erwin post office closes
  10. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Erwin, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Erwin (Township)1873Erwin (Township)
Today6 recent
St. Mary’s Orthodox Church2025St. Mary’s Orthodox ChurchI-99 sb (NY) approaching exit 11, July 20232023I-99 sb (NY) approaching exit 11, July 2023I-86 eb approaching I-99, July 20232023I-86 eb approaching I-99, July 2023Paintedpostdmv2022PaintedpostdmvCOVID-19 regulation signage at Holiday Inn Express2022COVID-19 regulation signage at Holiday Inn ExpressArthur H Erwin 1828 Homestead2007Arthur H Erwin 1828 Homestead
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.

Erwin (Township)
Retake this viewErwin (Township), 1873

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Erwin

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
US Post Office-Painted Post
US Post Office-Painted PostFirst Baptist Church of Painted PostErwin Town Hall
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
20th Century Revival1
Italian Renaissance1
US Post Office-Painted PostColonial Revival
First Baptist Church of Painted Post20th Century Revival
All 3 listings
Erwin Town HallBuilding · listed 2022

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

People over time

Erwin, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018501900195020008,090

Grew from 795 people in 1830 to 8,090 in 2020, more than tenfold.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Erwin

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

See all →
Margaret SangerAmerican birth control activist and nurse · b. 1879
Thomas John Watson, Sr.USA IBM executive and art collector · b. 1874
Samuel SevianAmerican chess player · b. 2000
J
James Tyler KentAmerican physician, homeopat · b. 1849
Alice Bigelow TullyAmerican singer, patron · b. 1902
Amo HoughtonAmerican politician · b. 1926
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

CorningIts storyBAddison5 historic placesA+LindleyIts storyCPainted Post3 historic placesACampbell2 historic placesB+HornbyIts storyB−

Questions about Erwin’s history

What year was Erwin founded?

In 1786, according to Wikidata. Erwin’s post office opened in 1800, and the census of 1830 counted 795 people here.

How does Erwin rank for history?

Erwin is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #563 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.

What is on the National Register in Erwin?

Three places: the US Post Office-Painted Post (listed 1989), the First Baptist Church of Painted Post (1999) and the Erwin Town Hall (2022).

How old are the homes in Erwin?

12% of Erwin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (7), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.