Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #189 of 758 in New York. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1820.
Lowville dates its founding to 1797 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lowville is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #189 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 National Register listings 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 Lowville’s 29.4 sits near the middle of its state (61% of New York towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% 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.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lowville’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Lowville.
Settled in 1798 by a company from Westfield, Massachusetts, the town was formed in 1800 from the town of Mexico in Oswego County. In 1803, part of Lowville was used to form the town of Harrisburg. The village of Lowville was incorporated in 1854 and was designated the county seat in 1864, succeeding Martinsburg.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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.
1884Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Passages that mention Lowville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
towns of Diana and Lowville beg leave to report * » * * » " That from the report of the Railroad Commissioners of the town of Lowville, we find that the interest on its outstanding bonds for the year 1882, has been and was paid, to the sum of $4,058.16. That there has been received in dividends on
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
sive meetings next, hereafter, to cause to be levied and collected the sum of $500 upon the taxable property of the town of Lowville, in the same manner that other town charges are levied and collected to be expended in the erection of an academic building for the use of the Lowville Academy, in the
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereBradley F. Granger is born here
Born hereEdward A. Stevenson is born here
Born hereJessie Fremont O'Donnell is born here
In the archiveLowville, N.Y
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereTina Burner is born hereOne decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lowville. 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 Lowville.
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 Lowville’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 1,943 and 4,982 people in every census since 1820.
21 censuses, 1820–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lowville’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
In 1797, according to Wikidata. Lowville’s post office opened in 1803, and the census of 1820 counted 1,943 people here.
Lowville is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #189 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.
65% of Lowville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.6 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 (9), Wikidata (1), 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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