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Pittsford, New York town hallPhoto: DanielPenfield · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−History
History · Pittsford

Pittsford’s post office opened in 1818, and 8 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #411 of 758 in New York. What drives it

8 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 649 buildings between them. Most of Pittsford was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1820.

1818first post office
8on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Pittsford began, and where its name came from

When was Pittsford founded?

1818

The Pittsford post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1827.

First census: 1,582 in 18202020 census: 30,617208 years

How did Pittsford get its name?

Pittsford was named by Colonel Caleb Hopkins, a War of 1812 hero and subsequently Pittsford town supervisor, for the town of his birth, Pittsford, Vermont.

How historic is Pittsford?

A−

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pittsford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1827. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pittsford’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pittsford is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #411 of 758 in New York. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pittsford’s overall grade.
Founding era1818, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19408.1% of homes (±1.3) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register8 listings, 660 historic buildings, 216 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 46%

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 Pittsford’s 216 sits above most of its state (83% of New York towns have fewer) while its 660 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1827 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 →

What stands out about Pittsford’s past

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

A historic districtThe Pittsford Village Historic District takes in 634 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Pittsford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18958 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1994. Watch Pittsford change.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1912, drew every building in Pittsford.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

8 listings protect 660 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
660
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Phoenix Building
Phoenix Building, built 1820Spring HousePittsford Village Historic DistrictThomas Youngs HouseAdolph Lomb House, built 1907Hildreth-Lord-Hawley FarmHopkins FarmOak Hill Country Club
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal4
Greek Revival2
Italianate2
Gothic Revival1
Queen Anne1
Eastlake1
Phoenix BuildingFederal · Built 1820
Spring HouseBuilding
Pittsford Village Historic DistrictFederal
Thomas Youngs HouseFederal
Adolph Lomb HouseBuilt 1907
Hildreth-Lord-Hawley FarmLate Victorian
Hopkins FarmEarly Republic
All 8 listings
Oak Hill Country ClubDistrict · listed 2023

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

Help out

Start Pittsford’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pittsford’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

Pittsford on the map, 1895 to 1994

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

Pittsford on the 1895 USGS mapPittsford on the 1912 USGS mapPittsford on the 1920 USGS mapPittsford on the 1931 USGS mapPittsford on the 1952 USGS mapPittsford on the 1969 USGS mapPittsford on the 1971 USGS mapPittsford on the 1994 USGS map1895Rochester 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 Pittsford.

The story

How Pittsford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pittsford.

Read it all →

The town is situated within the region subject to the Marquis de Denonville's expedition of 1,600 French soldiers, 400 Canadian colonials, and 983 Native American allies in 1687, for the purpose of punishing the Seneca tribe, the foremost nation of the Iroquois Indian Confederacy, for their connection with the English and their interference in the lucrative French fur trade.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Pittsford, 1851–1890

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

Hopkins, of Pittsford, and Mr. Maybee was the father of John and James Maybee, who were pioneer settlers of Royalton, Niagara county, and of Suffrenus Maybee, a pioneer settler at Buffalo, and the mouth of Cattaraugus creek ; a daughter was the wife of Orange Stone, another of Caleb Hopkins, anothe…
History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve1851 · page 430Read the page →
Read the text

Hopkins, of Pittsford, and Mr. Maybee was the father of John and James Maybee, who were pioneer settlers of Royalton, Niagara county, and of Suffrenus Maybee, a pioneer settler at Buffalo, and the mouth of Cattaraugus creek ; a daughter was the wife of Orange Stone, another of Caleb Hopkins, another of Griffin, of Pittsford. Dr. Fassett, of Lockport, and a brother of his in Rochester, are grand-sons of Gen. Fassett.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Adrian. He also planned three sections west of Adrian, and jjut the first — Adrian to Clayton— into commission, and established the second to extend from Clayton to Pittsford, the third from Pittsford to Hillsdale. Over each section he put a foreman wlio Iiad two, three, and sometimes four men unde…
History of Monroe County, Michigan ..1890 · page 225Read the page →
Read the text

Adrian. He also planned three sections west of Adrian, and jjut the first — Adrian to Clayton— into commission, and established the second to extend from Clayton to Pittsford, the third from Pittsford to Hillsdale. Over each section he put a foreman wlio Iiad two, three, and sometimes four men under him, whose duty it was to see that tlio track was

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

Pittsford, 1818 to 2002

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1818Post officeThe Pittsford post office opens
  3. 1819Born hereBurton C. Cook is born here
  4. 1820BuiltPhoenix Building is built
  5. 1843Born hereRousseau Owen Crump is born here
  6. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1907BuiltAdolph Lomb House is built
  9. 21st century
  10. 2000Born herePaige Conners is born here
  11. 2002Born hereMagnus Sheffield is born here
By decade

Pittsford, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Pittsford, New York town hall2010Pittsford, New York town hallPittsford Farms Dairy2010Pittsford Farms DairyNY 96 south at NY 312010NY 96 south at NY 31Pittsford Town Hall Dec 092009Pittsford Town Hall Dec 09Pittsford - Spring House2009Pittsford - Spring HouseNorth end of NY 642009North end of NY 64Errant NY 253 marker on NY 31F2009Errant NY 253 marker on NY 31FCarver house2009Carver houseHOPKINS FARM2008HOPKINS FARMVogt - Allen house2007Vogt - Allen houseSylvanus Lathrop house2007Sylvanus Lathrop housePittsfrod business district2007Pittsfrod business districtPhoenix Hotel2007Phoenix HotelNY 31F western terminus2007NY 31F western terminusUntitled photo2007Untitled photoNY 153 south in2007NY 153 south inErie Canal in2007Erie Canal inWiltsie and Crump buidling2006Wiltsie and Crump buidling
Every building

Pittsford, building by building, 1885–1912

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.

Pittsford fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Pittsford, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,000185019001950200030,617

Grew from 1,582 people in 1820 to 30,617 in 2020, more than tenfold.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Pittsford

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

See all →
Magnus SheffieldAmerican cyclist · b. 2002
Burton C. CookAmerican politician · b. 1819
Rousseau Owen CrumpAmerican politician · b. 1843
Paige ConnersFigure skater · b. 2000
Aneel BhusriAmerican business executive · b. 1966
William B. WilliamsAmerican judge and politician · b. 1826
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Pittsford’s post office has been open since 1818.

Gone or out of use
First Methodist ChurchchurchHillcrest Country ClublocaleSaint Louis Roman Catholic ChurchchurchSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 7schoolSchool Number 8schoolWashington Drive-Inlocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pittsford
East StreetPioneerPittsford

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Rochester1 historic placeB−Perinton12 historic placesB+Henrietta4 historic placesB−Mendon14 historic placesABrighton4 historic placesA−

Questions about Pittsford’s history

What year was Pittsford founded?

The Pittsford post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1827.

How does Pittsford rank for history?

Pittsford is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #411 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 Pittsford?

8 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Phoenix Building (listed 1974, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Pittsford Village Historic District, the Hopkins Farm and the Oak Hill Country Club, with 649 contributing buildings. 660 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Pittsford?

8% of Pittsford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.