Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #58 of 758 in New York. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1820.
Hamilton dates its founding to 1795 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1820.
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hamilton is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #58 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 age lowest.
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 Hamilton’s 362 sits above most of its state (88% of New York towns have fewer) while its 158 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1887Sheet 1 of 4Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Hamilton.
The location was formerly called "Payne's Corners". The town of Hamilton was established in 1795, before the county was formed, from the town of Paris in Oneida County. The original town was reduced to create new towns in the county.
The Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm, an appendant body in Freemasonry, was founded in Hamilton in 1890.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereHenry B. Payne is born here
Born hereCharles C. Bonney is born here
Born hereSereno E. Payne is born here
In the archiveMap of
In the archiveHamilton Village Business Notices.; Hamilton (Village)
In the archiveHamilton, N.Y
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereJohn Vincent Atanasoff is born here
In the archive1911-09-19 The President's House Hamilton NY A
In the archiveShell GasPassages that mention Hamilton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
capable of receiving education and the Whites alone have been the beneficiaries. These beneficiaries, however, down through twelve decades, link the name of Hamilton with one of the greatest among America's great schools. Twenty years after its original incorporation, the Hamilton Oneida Academy was invested with the collegiate powers and privileges which it has since broadly and use
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Mr. Ouackenbush has always been actively at work and practically his entire life has been devoted to civil and mechanical engineering. He has been engaged principally in the building of bridges, and his services have been in demand not only throughout Hamilton county and the state of Iowa but also in Nebraska, North and South Dakota and Minnesota. In addition to the construction of highway and railroad bridges he has also erected many structures throughout the same territory. He sensed as county surveyor and engineer of Hamilton
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Frank A. Huddlestun received his education in the public schools of his native state and laid aside his books at the age of seventeen years. He then started to farm for himself and was successful in this field of activity in Illinois until 1892, when he came to Hamilton county, Iowa, where he purchased four hundred and seventy-six acres of land in Hamilton township, upon which he resided until 1906. He subsequently disposed of his holdings and moved to Webster City, where he bought two hundred and twenty-two acres in the south part
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.
5 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hamilton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hamilton.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hamilton’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 2,681 and 6,690 people in every census since 1820.
21 censuses, 1820–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hamilton’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1795, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hamilton’s post office opened in 1800, and the census of 1820 counted 2,681 people here.
Hamilton is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #58 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.
52% of Hamilton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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