Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1889.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Johnson City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Johnson City is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #364 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Johnson City’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 Johnson City’s 127 sits above most of its state (78% of New York towns have fewer) while its 189 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% 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 (±4.8 points). Two sources give 1892.
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 Johnson City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Known as the "Home of the Square Deal", from the Square Deal given to all employees of Endicott Johnson Corporation, Johnson City was originally incorporated in 1892 as the village of Lestershire. In 1916, the village was renamed Johnson City in honor of George F. Johnson, who led the company that was by then known as Endicott Johnson. Much of Johnson City's history is rooted in the prosperity of the Endicott Johnson Corporation, and later in the prosperity brought by IBM in neighboring Endicott. However, the deindustrialization that occurred across the United States impacted Johnson City heavily. The loss of nearly all industry in the span of a couple decades left the economy of Upstate New York, and thus Johnson City, devastated and in recession, explaining in part the village's population decline over time. Over the past decade, new revitalization efforts led by the expansion of Unit…
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Johnson City.
Every building
Johnson City, building by building, 1918–1925
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.
In 1892, according to Wikidata. Johnson City’s post office opened in 1889, and the census of 1900 counted 3,111 people here.
How does Johnson City rank for history?
Johnson City is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #364 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.
How old are the homes in Johnson City?
38% of Johnson City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1949.
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) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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