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Oliver Rice HousePhoto: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0
A−History
History · Mayfield

Mayfield dates to 1793, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #457 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Oliver Rice House and the Log Cabin Church. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1820.

1793founded
2on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mayfield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mayfield began

When was Mayfield founded?

1793

Mayfield dates its founding to 1793 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 2,025 in 18202020 census: 6,146233 years

How historic is Mayfield?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mayfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mayfield is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #457 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mayfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1793, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194020.2% of homes (±4.5) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 4 historic buildings, 6.5 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 40%

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 Mayfield’s 6.5 sits near the middle of its state (39% of New York towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1793.
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 (±4.5 points).

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 Mayfield’s past

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

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Mayfield, and 13 old place names are still on the map.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1840 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.On the map since 19034 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1970. Watch Mayfield change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1793: 233 years of Mayfield.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Mayfield’s post office has been open since 1819. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cranberry Creek
1819–1930
Mayfield
1819–today
Riceville
1833–1848
Vail Mills
1835–1933
Jackson Summit
1858–1863
Munsonville
1874–1903
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Broadalbin JunctionCranberry CreekDennies HollowHeyday Mobile Home ParkJackson SummitJockeyville I Mobile Home ParkMunsonvilleParadise Pines Mobile Home ParkProgressRed Bunch CornersRicevilleTomantownVail Mills
Gone or out of use
Bemis SchoolschoolFrank SchoolschoolSchool Number 15schoolVail Mills Drive-Inlocale
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mayfield
BerryBroadalbin Mayfield RuralChristieMunsonvilleRicevilleUnion FreeVail Mills

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

People over time

Mayfield, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,00018501900195020002,615 in 1840Low: 1,806

Lost a third of its people between 1840 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

On the map

Mayfield on the map, 1903 to 1970

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

Mayfield on the 1903 USGS mapMayfield on the 1945 USGS mapMayfield on the 1963 USGS mapMayfield on the 1970 USGS map1903Gloversville 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 Mayfield.

The story

How Mayfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mayfield.

Read it all →

The land that is now the town was formed by portions of several colonial land grants, including: The Mayfield Patent (1770); Col. Daniel Claus' Patent (1770); Cpt. Norman McLeod's Patent (1770); Lt Benjamin Roberts' Patent (1770); The Kingsborough Patent (1753); The Kayaderosseras Patent (1701); Sacondaga Patent (1741); Glen's Purchase (1770); the Glen, Bleecker, and Lansing Patent (1793); and Chase's Patent (1792).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mayfield, 1793 to 2010

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1793
    FoundingMayfield is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1819Post officeThe Cranberry Creek post office opens
  5. 1819Post officeThe Mayfield post office opens
  6. 1824Born hereGeorge Tobey Anthony is born here
  7. 1833Post officeThe Riceville post office opens
  8. 1837Born hereSarah C. Mink is born here
  9. 1848Post officeThe Riceville post office closes
  10. 1888In the archiveVeterans 115th N.Y. Vols., in re-union at Mayfield, N.Y., 1888
  11. 20th century
  12. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1907In the archiveCruser Post Card Co. - Mayfield Glove Co., Mayfield, New York back
  14. 1930Post officeThe Cranberry Creek post office closes
  15. 21st century
  16. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 6,495
By decade

Mayfield, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s3 items
Veterans 115th N.Y. Vols., in re-union at Mayfield, N.Y., 18881888Veterans 115th N.Y. Vols., in re-union at Mayfield, N…Cruser Post Card Co. - Mayfield Glove Co., Mayfield, New York backc. 1907Cruser Post Card Co. - Mayfield Glove Co., Mayfield, …PostcardCruser Post Card Co. - Mayfield Glove Co., Mayfield, New York frontc. 1907Cruser Post Card Co. - Mayfield Glove Co., Mayfield, …Postcard
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown2 to date
HistMainStMayfieldDate?HistMainStMayfieldRice Homestead, Route 30Date?Rice Homestead, Route 30
Today4 recent
2024-09-16 16 06 54 Sign for Adirondack Park along northbound New York State Route 30 (Adirondack Trail) in20242024-09-16 16 06 54 Sign for Adirondack Park along no…2024-09-16 16 06 47 Sign for Adirondack Park along northbound New York State Route 30 (Adirondack Trail) in20242024-09-16 16 06 47 Sign for Adirondack Park along no…Harold F. Reichenthal2021Harold F. ReichenthalWildlife Museum & Art Gallery2020Wildlife Museum & Art Gallery
Every building

Mayfield, building by building, 1927

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 sheet.

Mayfield fire insurance map, 1927, sheet 11927Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Veterans 115th N.Y. Vols., in re-union at Mayfield, N.Y., 1888
Retake this viewVeterans 115th N.Y. Vols., in re-union at Mayfield, N.Y., 1888, 1888

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mayfield’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Mayfield

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Oliver Rice House
Oliver Rice HouseLog Cabin Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Early Republic1
Oliver Rice HouseEarly Republic
Log Cabin ChurchBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Mayfield

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

See all →
George Tobey AnthonyAmerican governor of Kansas · b. 1824
Sarah C. MinkAmerican organizational leader; national presid… · b. 1837
Help out

Start Mayfield’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewVeterans 115th N.Y. Vols., in re-union …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

JohnstownIts storyB+Northampton3 historic placesA+BensonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPerthIts storyB−Broadalbin1 historic placeB+Bleecker1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mayfield’s history

What year was Mayfield founded?

In 1793, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mayfield’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1820 counted 2,025 people here.

How does Mayfield rank for history?

Mayfield is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #457 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.

What is on the National Register in Mayfield?

Two places: the Oliver Rice House (listed 1995) and the Log Cabin Church (1999).

How old are the homes in Mayfield?

20% of Mayfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1976.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 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.