Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #111 of 758 in New York. What drives it
12 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 108 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.
The Oneonta post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1842.
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oneonta is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #111 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age 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 Oneonta’s 79.1 sits above most of its state (72% of New York towns have fewer) while its 119 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% 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 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.
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.
1886Sheet 1 of 4Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Oneonta.
Indigenous ancestors of Algonquin and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans inhabited the land in the territory of Oneonta before European colonists settled in the area. The Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy are believed to have emerged and gained dominance prior to the 15th century; they were in place at the time of early French and Dutch colonization.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Oneonta, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Oneonta was incorporated in 1848, and reincorporated in 1871. The following have officiated as presidents of the village since its reincorporation, viz.: 1871, W. Gillett; 1872, Samuel II. Case; 1873, James II. Keyca; 1874, Charles E.Bunn; 1875, Anthony White; 1876, M.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
is gravel and slate, with a mixture of clay, and on the river it is a gravelly loam. ■ >; Prior to and dviring the Revolution the territory embraced within the present town of Oneonta was travei-sed by the Indians, and it is believed that the presetit Main street in the village is located on a portion of the old trail which led from Schoharie fort to the west. An interesting relic was found a few years since near the lower bridge. It
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereCarleton Watkins is born here
Born hereHenry E. Huntington is born here
In the archiveOneonta, N.Y
In the archiveOneonta Viaduct
In the archive"Oneonta," Oneonta, N.Y
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereJerry Jeff Walker is born here3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oneonta. 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 Oneonta.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oneonta’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 1,061 and 16,030 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oneonta’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Oneonta’s post office has been open since 1832.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Oneonta post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1842.
Oneonta is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #111 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.
12 listings: 10 buildings, among them the Fairchild Mansion (listed 1974, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Walnut Street Historic District and the Oneonta Downtown Historic District, with 108 contributing buildings. 119 historic buildings in all.
56% of Oneonta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (12), 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, 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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