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BHistory
History · Otisco

Otisco dates to 1798, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1820.

1798founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Phmalo · CC BY-SA 2.5
Quick answers

How Otisco began

When was Otisco founded?

1798

Otisco dates its founding to 1798 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 1,726 in 18202020 census: 2,368228 years

How historic is Otisco?

B

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1815.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Otisco’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Otisco is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Otisco’s overall grade.
Founding era1798, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194018.1% of homes (±5.7) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NY town 12.3 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 55%
NewerOlder

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 Otisco’s 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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points). Two sources give 1798.

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 Otisco’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 Otisco are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1830 and 1930, then more than doubled.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Otisco, and 8 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1955. Watch Otisco change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Otisco’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Otisco’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
People over time

Otisco, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018501900195020001,938 in 1830Low: 871

Lost half of its people between 1830 and 1930, then more than doubled.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

Otisco had its own post office from 1815 to 1923. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Otisco
1815–1923
Amber
1817–1939
Otisco Valley
1868–1944
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AmberBay ShoresGamble MillHeath GroveMaple GroveOtisco ValleyRice GroveWilliams Grove
Gone or out of use
Dutch Hill SchoolschoolSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 7school
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Otisco
AmberHillsdaleMaple GroveSaint PatricksThe West

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

The story

How Otisco came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Otisco.

Read it all →

The town was part of the former Central New York Military Tract. The town was first settled by outsiders around 1798, but permanent settlement began around 1801. The Town of Otisco was formed in 1806 from parts of other towns: Pompey, Marcellus, and Tully.

The name "Otisco" may have been derived from the Iroquois name for Nine Mile Creek, Us-te-ke, meaning "bitter-nut-hickory". At least one older map, published in 1825, has the name spelled as "Ostisco". The name may also have been derived from the word ostickney, meaning "waters much dried away", or from the Onondaga word ostick, meaning "the water is low".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Otisco, 1798 to 2000

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1798
    FoundingOtisco is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1808Born hereLewis Gaylord Clark is born here
  5. 1808Born hereWillis Gaylord Clark is born here
  6. 1815Post officeThe Otisco post office opens
  7. 1817Post officeThe Amber post office opens
  8. 1823Born hereGeorge W. Cowles is born here
  9. 1868Post officeThe Otisco Valley post office opens
  10. 1899Born hereRoy Walter Riehlman is born here
  11. 20th century
  12. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1923Post officeThe Otisco post office closes
  14. 1939Post officeThe Amber post office closes
  15. 1944Post officeThe Otisco Valley post office closes
  16. 21st century
  17. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 2,561
By decade

Otisco, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Churches in2022Churches inChurches in Otisco, New York 06 59 07 5890002022Churches in Otisco, New York 06 59 07 589000NY 174 Otisco Lake2008NY 174 Otisco LakeOTISCO RIDGE HOUSErev2005OTISCO RIDGE HOUSErev
On the map

Otisco on the map, 1900 to 1955

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

Otisco on the 1900 USGS mapOtisco on the 1943 USGS mapOtisco on the 1955 USGS map1900Tully 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 Otisco.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Otisco

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

See all →
Lewis Gaylord ClarkAmerican editor · b. 1808
Roy Walter RiehlmanAmerican politician · b. 1899
Willis Gaylord ClarkAmerican writer · b. 1808
George W. CowlesAmerican politician · b. 1823
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Spafford2 historic placesA−LaFayetteIts storyB−TullyIts storyB+Onondaga3 historic placesB−

Questions about Otisco’s history

What year was Otisco founded?

In 1798, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Otisco’s post office opened in 1815, and the census of 1820 counted 1,726 people here.

How does Otisco rank for history?

Otisco is more historic than 55% 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 Otisco?

18% of Otisco’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (4), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.