Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Ogden

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
BHistory
History · Ogden

Ogden dates to 1817, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #615 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Most of Ogden was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listings are the Adams-Ryan House and the Spencerport Methodist Church. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1820.

1817founded
2on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ogden began

When was Ogden founded?

1817

Ogden dates its founding to 1817 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 1,435 in 18202020 census: 20,270209 years

How historic is Ogden?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ogden’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ogden is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #615 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ogden’s overall grade.
Founding era1817, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19408.2% of homes (±1.9) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 4 historic buildings, 2.0 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 19%

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 Ogden’s 2.0 sits below most of its state (25% of New York towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1817.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Ogden’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Ogden are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18995 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1971. Watch Ogden change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Ogden, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1817: 209 years of Ogden.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ogden’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Ogden on the map, 1899 to 1971

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

Ogden on the 1899 USGS mapOgden on the 1932 USGS mapOgden on the 1952 USGS mapOgden on the 1969 USGS mapOgden on the 1971 USGS map1899Bergen 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 Ogden.

Places that used to be

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

Another post office, Salmon Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Adams Basin
1828–today
Spencerport
1838–today
Salmon Creek
1851–1856
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Adams BasinOgden CenterSpencerportTown Pump
Gone or out of use
School Number 10schoolSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 14schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6school
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ogden
Colby StreetFairfieldLocust GroveMaple GrovePleasant HillSaint JohnsShaferWhittier

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

The story

How Ogden came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ogden.

Read it all →

The land in Ogden and surrounding areas was transferred from the Native Americans to Phelps and Gorham. The land was surveyed and was divided into townships and lots. The original parcel was about 37sq miles. The New York State Legislature established Genesee county in 1802. The town of Northampton was one of four towns created during the organization of the new county.

On December 8, 1807 the town of Northampton was divided and the town of Parma was created. About nine years later Ogden was split off from Parma. This occurred on January 17, 1817.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Ogden in 1908

Passages that mention Ogden, cut from the printed page as they were published.

of the Genesee river, this tract being then owned by Wadsworth & Murray. They each articled a lot in the then North Hampton township, county of Genesee, now the town of Ogden, Monroe county. They settled as follows: Ephraim, on lots 80 and 93, now owned and occupied by J. C.
History of Rochester and Monroe county, New York1908 · page 1359Read the page →
Read the text

of the Genesee river, this tract being then owned by Wadsworth & Murray. They each articled a lot in the then North Hampton township, county of Genesee, now the town of Ogden, Monroe county. They settled as follows: Ephraim, on lots 80 and 93, now owned and occupied by J. C.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
student. He afterward attended the Parma Institute and the Brockport Normal and thus acquired a liberal education. He has always resided upon his farm in the town of Ogden, having here seventj'-five acres of valuable and productive land known as the Beechwood Fruit Farm. It is pleasantly and conven…
History of Rochester and Monroe county, New York1908 · page 726Read the page →
Read the text

student. He afterward attended the Parma Institute and the Brockport Normal and thus acquired a liberal education. He has always resided upon his farm in the town of Ogden, having here seventj'-five acres of valuable and productive land known as the Beechwood Fruit Farm. It is pleasantly and conveniently located on the Lyell road adjoining the corporation limits of Spencer-

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

Ogden, 1817 to 1899

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1817
    FoundingOgden is established
  3. 1825BuiltAdams-Ryan House is built
  4. 1827Born hereJohn Townsend Trowbridge is born here
  5. 1828Post officeThe Adams Basin post office opens
  6. 1838Post officeThe Spencerport post office opens
  7. 1851Post officeThe Salmon Creek post office opens
  8. 1856Post officeThe Salmon Creek post office closes
  9. 1858Born hereFrancis Kelsey is born here
  10. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ogden, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Adams Basin2018Adams BasinWilliamCMunnElementarySchoolOgdenNewYork2016WilliamCMunnElementarySchoolOgdenNewYorkSpencerportHighSchoolEntranceOgdenNewYork2016SpencerportHighSchoolEntranceOgdenNewYorkRalphQuattrociocchiMemorialHighway2016RalphQuattrociocchiMemorialHighwayLeoBernabiElementarySchoolOgdenNewYork2016LeoBernabiElementarySchoolOgdenNewYorkCanalViewElementarySchoolOgdenNewYork2016CanalViewElementarySchoolOgdenNewYorkAdaCosgroveMiddleSchoolOgdenNewYork2016AdaCosgroveMiddleSchoolOgdenNewYorkLift Bridge on the Erie Canal2013Lift Bridge on the Erie CanalOgden, New York Town Offices2012Ogden, New York Town OfficesNorth end of NY 362007North end of NY 36Monroe County, New York2004Monroe County, New York
On the National Register

2 historic places in Ogden

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
1985
Adams-Ryan House
Adams-Ryan House, built 1825Spencerport Methodist Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Vernacular1
Greek Revival1
Queen Anne1
Romanesque Revival1
Adams-Ryan HouseFederal · Built 1825
Spencerport Methodist ChurchRomanesque Revival

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

People over time

Ogden, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000185019001950200020,270

Grew from 1,435 people in 1820 to 20,270 in 2020, more than tenfold.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Ogden

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

See all →
John Townsend TrowbridgeAmerican writer · b. 1827
Francis KelseyAmerican classical philologist and archaeologist · b. 1858
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sweden14 historic placesAGates1 historic placeB−Parma2 historic placesB+Riga1 historic placeBBergen3 historic placesA

Questions about Ogden’s history

What year was Ogden founded?

In 1817, according to Wikidata. Ogden’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1820 counted 1,435 people here.

How does Ogden rank for history?

Ogden is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #615 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 Ogden?

Two places: the Adams-Ryan House (listed 1985) and the Spencerport Methodist Church (2008).

How old are the homes in Ogden?

8% of Ogden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), 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 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.