Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1825.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gerry’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gerry is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gerry’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 Gerry’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 (±7.3 points). Two sources give 1810.
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 Gerry’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Settlement began circa 1810 with Amos Atkins, a surveyor, who built the first building, a log cabin. The town of Gerry was formed on June 1, 1812, from a part of the town of Pomfret. The first town meeting was held at the home of Major Samuel Sinclair, who was elected the first Supervisor that year. Sinclair is also the namesake of Sinclairville, located within the town.
The size of the town was reduced by the formation of the newer towns of Ellington and Charlotte. By 1900, the population of Gerry was 1,198.
Gerry is best known for hosting an annual rodeo (which has been an annual event in the town since 1945) and a Scandinavian folk festival, both of which are held in the summer.
Passages that mention Gerry, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people1921 · page 188Read the page →
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The postoffice, which long held the name of Vermont, was changed to Gerry about 1876, and the station on the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley & Pittsburgh railroad was changed from Vermont to Gerry as late as 1881. When these changes were made, "Vermont in Gerry" was no longer a fact, but a memory. The pioneers are gone, but many of their descendants are
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people1921 · page 170Read the page →
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The town of Ellington is bounded on the north by the town of Cherry Creek, on the west by the town of Gerry, south by the town of Poland, and on the east by Cattaraugus county. It is understood to have been named after Ellington in Connecticut. Most of the ♦This narrative is by Mr. Theodore A. Case.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Chautauqua County, New York1875 · page 396Read the page →
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Gerry was formed from Pomfret, June i, 1812, and comprised townships 3 and 4, of the loth and nth ranges. Ellington, including Cherry Creek, was taken from Gerry in 1824, and Charlotte in 1829. Gerry comprises the 3d township of the nth range. The surface is a hilly upland, the highest summits being 900 feet above Lake Erie. The soil is a clay loam on the uplands, and a sandy loam in the valleys. The principal stream is the Cassadaga creek, which runs south-easterly through the south-west quarter of the town. Mill creek, running south-westerly through the north-west corner,
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.
By decade
Gerry, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
In 1810, according to Wikidata. Gerry’s post office opened in 1825.
How does Gerry rank for history?
Gerry is more historic than 65% 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 Gerry?
29% of Gerry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
