Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1809.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Otego’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Otego is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #393 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Otego’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 Otego’s 3.7 sits below most of its state (31% of New York towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1775.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 points).
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 Otego’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was first settled circa 1775, but few more arrived until after the American Revolution. Tension between ethnic Germans and New Englanders slowed early development.
The Town of Otego was formed in 1822 from the towns of Unadilla and Franklin (in Delaware County) as the "Town of Huntsville." In 1830, the name was changed to Otego, when part of the Town of Milford was added.
The Otsdawa Creek Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Passages that mention Otego, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Grand Army of the Republic. History of the order in the U. S. by counties. Otsego County posts, Department of New York, including a complete record of soldiers surviving and buried in the county, with company and regiment ... Compiled by D. A. Ellis1892Read the page →
Read the text
Adelbert Hiighston was boru in the town of Otego, Dec. 29, 1842, educated at the common schools, and learned the coopers trade. He enlisted from New Lisbon, Aug.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Otsego County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1878Read the page →
Read the text
most valuable, attractive, and noticeable places in Otsego County, or along the line of the Albany and Susquehanna railroad. It can readily be seen by the railroad passenger, lying a short distance west of the Otego station. For nioro than half u century it has buuii the abode of peace, jilunly, and content, the homo of cordial welcome and boundless hospitality. The present proprietor preserves, in a marked degree, the well-known characteristics of the home of his
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
Otego, 1775 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Otego. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1915Oneonta 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 Otego.
Every building
Otego, building by building, 1886–1910
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 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Otego
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1775, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Otego’s post office opened in 1809, and the census of 1820 counted 1,414 people here.
How does Otego rank for history?
Otego is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #393 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 Otego?
One place: the Otsdawa Baptist Church (listed 2002).
How old are the homes in Otego?
22% of Otego’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
