Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: maps from 1923 on and the census since 1840.
The Persia post office opened in 1831, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1835. Two smaller post offices, Lodi (1825) and West Lodi (1830), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Persia is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings 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 Persia’s 39.1 sits near the middle of its state (65% of New York towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% 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 first neighbors to add old photos shape how Persia’s history is told.
Persia had its own post office from 1831 to 1848. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of Persia.
The area that would become the town was first settled in 1810. The town of Persia was founded in 1835 from the town of Perrysburg.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
2017Stereum gausapatum
2017Stereum gausapatum
2012Zoar Valley overlook near Forty Road parking area, To…
2012Zoar Valley at Forty Road parking area, Town of Persi…
2012Zoar Valley as seen from Forty Road parking area, Tow…
2012Zoar Valley MUA welcome sign at Forty Road parking ar…
2012Scenery along Point Peter Road, Town of Persia, New Y…Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Persia. 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 Persia.
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.
Between 892 and 2,756 people in every census since 1840.
19 censuses, 1840–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Persia’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Persia post office opened in 1831, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1835.
Persia is more historic than 93% 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.
Three places: the Gowanda Village Historic District (listed 1986), the Bank of Gowanda (2001) and the Kimble-Nellé House (2021).
49% of Persia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1941.
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 (7), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
