Its Register listings are the Smith McLoud House, the Italy Valley Methodist Church and the James Fox House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1812.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Italy’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Italy is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Italy’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 Italy’s 48.6 sits above most of its state (68% of New York towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±4.4 points). Two sources give 1815.
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 Italy’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first European settlers arrived around 1790. The town was part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase.
The town was founded in 1815 from the Town of Naples while still part of Ontario County. When Yates county was established in 1823, the Town of Italy became part of the new county.
The town is the location of a large elm tree that was once a council site for local natives.
The Smith McLoud House, Italy Valley Methodist Church, and James Fox House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Passages that mention Italy, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of architecture in Italy from the time of Constantine to the dawn of the renaissance1901 · page 304Read the page →
Read the text
style in s})ite of its strongly individual character and its essential charm. Scarcely anywhere in Italy, except in the towns I have already mentioned, and in some curious instances in the south of Italy, which will be noticed in a later chapter, are any examples of it to be fttund.
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
Italy, 1812 to 1904
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1815, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Italy’s post office opened in 1812, and the census of 1820 counted 728 people here.
How does Italy rank for history?
Italy is more historic than 79% 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 Italy?
Three places: the Smith McLoud House (listed 1994), the Italy Valley Methodist Church (1994) and the James Fox House (1994).
How old are the homes in Italy?
14% of Italy’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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.
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