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BHistory
History · Independence

Independence dates to 1821, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 1830.

1821founded
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Independence began

When was Independence founded?

1821

Independence dates its founding to 1821 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 877 in 18302020 census: 1,085205 years

How historic is Independence?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Independence’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Independence is more historic than 63% 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 Independence’s overall grade.
Founding era1821, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194026.2% of homes (±6.9) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NY town 12.3 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder

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 Independence’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 (±6.9 points). Two sources give 1821.

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 Independence’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Independence are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Independence, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,701 in 1850; 1,095 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1821: 205 years of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Independence’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Independence’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Independence had its own post office from 1824 to 1911. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Independence
1824–1911
Spring Mills
1827–1925
Whitesville
1833–today
Fulmer Valley
1870–1904
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Fulmer ValleySpring MillsWhitesville
Gone or out of use
School Number 3schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 7school
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Independence
BriggsFulmer ValleyHillsideIndependenceKenyon RoadPioneerSpring MillsUnited StatesWhitesville Rural

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

People over time

Independence, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,8001850190019502000Peak: 1,701

Peaked at 1,701 in 1850; 1,095 people lived here in 2020.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Independence’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Independence came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Independence.

Read it all →

The first permanent settlement occurred in 1819 at Whitesville, although an attempt was made to settle the town in 1798. The town of Independence was formed in 1821 from part of the town of Alfred. Independence was reduced by the formation of the towns of Andover (1824) and Willing (1851). Historians have found no particular reason as to why the name Independence was chosen.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Independence in 1851

Passages that mention Independence, cut from the printed page as they were published.

to Maryland in 1765, a finished scholar and gentleman, He took an active part in public affairs, and was elected a membei of the Continental Congress in July, 1776, and, with others, signed the Declaration of Independence on the second of August following. He retired from Congress in 1778, and, aft…
The pictorial field-book of the revolution1851 · page 665Read the page →
Read the text

to Maryland in 1765, a finished scholar and gentleman, He took an active part in public affairs, and was elected a membei of the Continental Congress in July, 1776, and, with others, signed the Declaration of Independence on the second of August following. He retired from Congress in 1778, and, after taking part in the councils of his native state, wns elected United States Senator in 1789. He retired from public life in 1801, and lived in the enjoyment of accumulated honors and

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.

Timeline

Independence, 1821 to 1926

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1821
    FoundingIndependence is established
  3. 1824Post officeThe Independence post office opens
  4. 1827Post officeThe Spring Mills post office opens
  5. 1831Born hereMary Bassett Clarke is born here
  6. 1833Post officeThe Whitesville post office opens
  7. 1850CensusPopulation peaks at 1,701
  8. 1871Born hereJessie Snyder Phillips is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1911Post officeThe Independence post office closes
  11. 1925Post officeThe Spring Mills post office closes
  12. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Independence on the map, 1926 to 1965

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Independence. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Independence on the 1926 USGS mapIndependence on the 1965 USGS map1926Wellsville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Independence.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Independence

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Mary Bassett ClarkeAmerican writer · b. 1831
Jessie Snyder PhillipsState Superintendent on Insurance · b. 1871
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

WillingIts storyB−AndoverIts storyB+Wellsville4 historic placesA+West Union1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreenwoodIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Independence’s history

What year was Independence founded?

In 1821, according to Wikidata. Independence’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1830 counted 877 people here.

How does Independence rank for history?

Independence is more historic than 63% 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 Independence?

26% of Independence’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1980.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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 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.