Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1815.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Nunda’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nunda is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Nunda’s overall grade.
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 Nunda’s 2,150 sits above most of its state (99% of New York towns have fewer) while its 267 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.7 points). Two sources give 1806.
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 Nunda’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
In 1790, two small Seneca villages could be found opposite each other on the Chautauqua Hollow Trail which became State Street.
Nunda was first settled around 1806 what is now near the village of Nunda. The town was formed in 1808 from the town of Angelica (in Allegany County) before the creation of Livingston County. In 1827, part of Nunda was used to found the new town of Portage. Originally called "Nunda Valley", the name was shortened to "Nunda" by Charles H. Carroll in 1824. The village of Nunda was incorporated as "Nunda Valley" and later "Nunda" in 1939. On March 11, 2008, the town of Nunda celebrated its bicentennial.
Passages that mention Nunda, cut from the printed page as they were published.
1808-1908. Centennial history of the town of Nunda, with a preliminary recital of the winning of western New York1908 · page 467Read the page →
Read the text
HISTORY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, DALTON— TOWN OF NUNDA The first religious services were held at Xunda .Station, now called Dalton, in 1855, three years after the railroad station for the town of Nunda was located there. Hiram Alerithew secured the services of Rev. Joseph Pearsall to preach in the school house, where the first class was formed with Hiram Merithew as class leader. These meetings grew in interest, with increase of attendance until more commodious quarters became a necessity.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1687. History of Livingston County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1881 · page 262Read the page →
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Genesee county, at its first formation, in 1805, Portage was set off as a part of Angelica, (Allegany county,) and in 1808 was again set off as a part of Nunda ; being formed from Nunda as the town of Portage, March 8, 1827. It was about six miles square, bounded on the east by the Piquot line, and on the west by the Transit line. In 1846 it was taken from Allegany
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1808-1908. Centennial history of the town of Nunda, with a preliminary recital of the winning of western New York1908 · page 191Read the page →
Read the text
lier Baptist church was also the Baptist church of Nunda and of Portage until 1828, her soldiers mostly enlisted in Nunda companies, and even to-day, the people of (jrove make Dalton, which is an important part of Nunda, their center of trade.
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.
Timeline
Nunda, 1806 to 1905
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1806, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Nunda’s post office opened in 1815, and the census of 1820 counted 1,188 people here.
How does Nunda rank for history?
Nunda is more historic than 98% 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.
How old are the homes in Nunda?
50% of Nunda’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1940.
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 the Library of Congress (1), 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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