The Freedom post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Elton (1849), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,505 in 18302020 census: 2,261200 years
How historic is Freedom?
B+
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Freedom post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Freedom’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Freedom is more historic than 72% 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 Freedom’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 Freedom’s 4.0 sits below most of its state (32% of New York towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±7.6 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 Freedom’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlers arrived in December 1811. Historians have found no specific reason why the town was named Freedom.
The Town of Freedom was founded in 1820, composed of land from the "Town of Ischua" (now Franklinville). The northern portion of Freedom was transferred to Arcade in Wyoming County in 1841. Part of Freedom became the town of Yorkshire in 1844.
Salem Welsh Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Freedom post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Freedom rank for history?
Freedom is more historic than 72% 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 Freedom?
One place: the Salem Welsh Church (listed 1995).
How old are the homes in Freedom?
21% of Freedom’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 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) 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.
