Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1815.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Guilford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Guilford is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #348 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 Guilford’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 Guilford’s 18.5 sits near the middle of its state (55% of New York towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1787.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.4 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Guilford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The land was purchased from the Oneida people in 1785. The town was first settled circa 1787. One of the first settlements was in what is now known as East Guilford, by the Mercereau brothers (who were Revolutionary War spies for George Washington). They built a mill on Guilford Creek at Indian Orchard Falls, along the Catskill Turnpike.
Guilford was formed from the town of Oxford in 1813 as "Eastern". The name became "Guilford" in 1817. The town was called by an older name, "Fayette", for the early part of its history during the time it was in Tioga County.
In 1787, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Guilford’s post office opened in 1815, and the census of 1820 counted 2,175 people here.
How does Guilford rank for history?
Guilford is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #348 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 Guilford?
5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Guildford Center Presbyterian Church (listed 2004, the first), and 2 sites.
How old are the homes in Guilford?
26% of Guilford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (5), 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.
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