Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Nelson Welsh Congregational Church and the Nelson Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Nelson post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nelson is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns. 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 Nelson’s 17.0 sits near the middle of its state (54% of New York towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Nelson’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereHenry Dexter is born here
Born hereScott Lord is born here
Born hereWilliam Denison Whipple is born hereFrom Wikipedia’s history of Nelson.
The town was formed in 1807 from the town of Cazenovia, the year after Madison County was established.
The Nelson Welsh Congregational Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Nelson had its own post office from 1812 to 1934.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Nelson post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Nelson is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns. 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.
Two places: the Nelson Welsh Congregational Church (listed 1993) and the Nelson Methodist Episcopal Church (2017).
37% of Nelson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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