Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1864 on and old-book passages.
Lorraine dates its founding to 1804 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1807.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lorraine’s history is told.
Lorraine’s post office has been open since 1810. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereAlexander Bailey is born here
Born hereEnos M. Barton is born here
In the archiveEllisburgh P.O. ( Ellisvillage) (Village); Ellisburgh Business Directory. Rodman Business…From Wikipedia’s history of Lorraine.
Settlement began around 1802. The original designation for this area was "Atticus".
The town was formed in 1804 from part of the town of Mexico in Oswego County. At that time the new town was called "Malta", but the name was changed to "Lorraine" in 1808 in order to avoid confusion with the town of Malta in Saratoga County.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Lorraine, cut from the printed page as they were published.
* Bonnin's decree ran as follows: "In the name of His Majesty the King of Prussia. Whereas the bridge of Fontenoy, to the east of Toul, has been destroyed, it is edicted that the circumscription under the general government of Lorraine shall pay an extraordinary tax of ten millions of francs as a fine for this offence. Notice thereof is hereby given to the public, with this remark, that the apportionment of the fine will be subsequently determined and that payment thereof will be enforced with the greatest severity. The village of Fontenoy was immediately set on fire, with the ex-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
of Lorraine, however, a kind of comedy was acted in order to upset the will of Henri II. His nephew Charles abdicated in favour of his own father, Francis of Lorraine, who thereupon took possession of the ducal throne. Francis occupied himself in paying off some huge debts left by his predecessors, notably his father Charles the Great, and then in his turn abdicated in favour of his son. In this way Nicole was frus-
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 Lorraine’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1804, according to Wikidata. Lorraine’s post office opened in 1807.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.