Fayette dates to 1790, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #297 of 758 in New York. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Rose Hill, a National Historic Landmark. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fayette’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fayette 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.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fayette’s overall grade.
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 Fayette’s 11.1 sits near the middle of its state (47% of New York towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±8.7 points). Two sources give 1790.
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 Fayette’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Fayette’s post office has been open since 1826. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Canoga
1826–1907
Fayette
1826–today
West Fayette
1829–1901
Rose Hill
1850–1872
Yale
1893–1914
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CanogaCanoga SpringsClemsons CornersIndian Hills Mobile Home CommunityKuneytownPastime ParkRose HillTeall BeachYale
Gone or out of use
Airtrek AirportairportSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 11schoolSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 14schoolSchool Number 16schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 7schoolSchool Number 9school
Seneca was part of the Central New York Military Tract and was first settled around 1790.
The town was established from part of the Town of Romulus in 1800 as the "Town of Washington", but adopted the current name in 1808.
In Fayette on April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith, who was from nearby Palmyra, New York, organized the Church of Christ in a log home owned by Peter Whitmer Sr. Whitmer and four others besides Smith were the initial six members of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Smith, with the largest denomination in the movement later being known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
the city was divided into four fire wards. Court street being the dividing line. The first ward composed that portion of the city lying north of Court street and east of Fayette; the second ward consisted of the territory lying north of Court and west of Fayette ; the third occupied that part of the city lying south of Court and west of Fayette; and the fourth comprised the remainder of the corporation lying south of Court and east of Fayette.
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History of Fayette County, Ohio1914 · page 346Read the page →
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was no such law, otherwise this difficulty might all have been remedied. A few years since the government changed the name Washington, Guernsey county, to "Old Washington," to distinguish it from the county seat of Fayette county, for much trouble arose over the distribution of mails for these two Ohio points. The fact is, that the Ohio Legislature gave this town — the seat of justice of Fayette county — the name of "Washington," and also when it was incorporated in 1831 it was incorporated as "Washing- Digitized by
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Portrait and biographical album of Fayette county, Iowa. Containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent1891 · page 190Read the page →
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Wis., who was a millwright b^' trade and was accidentally killed wliileat work in Montana. Gilbert B., a younger brother than B. W., is a farmer of Westfield Township, Fayette County, and has retired to the village of Fayette. Bcnoni W. Finch came to Iowa on the 18th of June, IB,")?, locating in Albany, Fayette County, wliere he was engaged in teaching school during
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Genealogical and personal history of Fayette county, Pennsylvania1912 · page 595Read the page →
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of age moved to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, where he studied law in the offices of General Thomas Meason and Judge John Kennedy. He was admitted to the Fayette county bar, August 17, 1813, and successfully practiced for more than thirty years in Fayette county. In 185 1 he was appointed associate judge of Fayette county by Governor
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Fayette, 1790 to 1986
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1790, according to Wikidata. Fayette’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1820 counted 2,869 people here.
How does Fayette rank for history?
Fayette 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.
What is on the National Register in Fayette?
Three places: the Rose Hill (listed 1973), the William Hoster House (2002) and the Christ Evangelical and Reformed Church (1989).
How old are the homes in Fayette?
38% of Fayette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1965.
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 National Register of Historic Places (3), 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 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.
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★ Landmark