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History · Nelliston

Nelliston was first counted by the census in 1880, and 52% of its homes were built before 1940

7 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first census
7on the National Register
52%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Nelliston’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Nelliston began

When was Nelliston founded?

1880

Nelliston first appears in the census in 1880.

First census: 558 in 18802020 census: 555146 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Nelliston’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1944. Watch Nelliston change.Old housesHalf of Nelliston’s homes were built before 1938.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nelliston’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewCanajoharie (Village); Canajoharie Busi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Nelliston on the map, 1898 to 1944

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

Nelliston on the 1898 USGS mapNelliston on the 1900 USGS mapNelliston on the 1944 USGS map1898Canajoharie 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 Nelliston.

The story

How Nelliston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Nelliston.

Read it all →

Andrew Nellis, founder of the Nellis family in the area, came to what is now the town of Palatine in 1722. Fort Fox and Fort Wagner were built at this location during the late colonial period. The village was not well-developed until the time of the Civil War.

The Lasher-Davis House, Ehle House Site, Peter Ehle House, Reformed Dutch Church of Stone Arabia, Jacob Nellis Farmhouse, Nelliston School, Waterman-Gramps House, Walrath-Van Horne House, and Nelliston Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Nelliston, 1868 to 1898

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868In the archiveCanajoharie (Village); Canajoharie Business Directory.; Nelliston (Village)
  3. 1870Born hereBill Dahlen is born here
  4. 1891In the archiveFort Plain, N.Y. and
  5. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Nelliston, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1890s3 items
Canajoharie (Village); Canajoharie Business Directory.; Nelliston (Village)1868Canajoharie (Village); Canajoharie Business Directory…Fort Plain, N.Y. and1891Fort Plain, N.Y. andFort Plain, N.Y. and Nelliston1891Fort Plain, N.Y. and Nelliston
1900s–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 unknown1 to date
Palatine Church, State Route 5Date?Palatine Church, State Route 5
Today1 recent
Abram Nellis Mansion Nelliston NY Apr 102010Abram Nellis Mansion Nelliston NY Apr 10
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.

Canajoharie (Village); Canajoharie Business Directory.; Nelliston (Village)
Retake this viewCanajoharie (Village); Canajoharie Business Directory.; Nelliston (Village), 1868

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

7 listings protect 64 historic buildings

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
64
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Nelliston, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 737

Between 553 and 737 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Palatine17 historic placesA+Fort Plain1 historic placeA−Minden4 historic placesACanajoharie6 historic placesA+

Questions about Nelliston’s history

What year was Nelliston founded?

The Nelliston post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.