Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1860.
The North Collins post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Collins is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 North Collins’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 North Collins’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Collins. 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 North Collins.
From Wikipedia’s history of North Collins.
The town of North Collins was founded in 1852 as the "Town of Shirley" from the northern part of the town of Collins. In 1853 the town assumed its current name.
In 1911, the community of North Collins set itself off from the town by incorporating as a village.
The Gamel Hexadecagon Barn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention North Collins, cut from the printed page as they were published.
their business being that of dealer in staves. In 1866 the}' retired from active busines, since which time Henry and his family have spent more or less of the Summer seasons in the Town of North Collins and the village of Springville, their Winter residence being in New York. James, for some years past, has been proprietor of the Mansion House, at Mauch Chunk, Pa.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Princeton, Green Lake' county, Wis.; previous to his removal he was for some time Justice of the Peace, and was Supervisor of the town of North Collins in 1856-7. Anna, born in Collins, Erie county, N. Y., May 7, 1819; died Oct. 16, 1822.
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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.
1917Sheet 1 of 4Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 1,617 and 4,090 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on North Collins’ Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The North Collins post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
North Collins is more historic than 50% 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.
44% of North Collins’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1946.
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 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.
