Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1827.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Prattsburgh’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Prattsburgh is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Prattsburgh’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 Prattsburgh’s 75.8 sits above most of its state (72% of New York towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1801.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Prattsburgh’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prattsburgh was formed from the town of Pulteney in 1813. The Prattsburgh community is named after early settler Joel Pratt, who arrived around 1799 to purchase land. Settlers arrived in 1801.
In Prattsburgh was the Franklin Institute, described as "old" about 1812.
From c. 1889-1961 Prattsburgh was located on a railroad. The Kanona & Prattsburgh Railroad Company, the Kanona & Prattsburgh Railway Company, and the Prattsburgh Railway Corporation during the period operated an 11.44 single-track standard-gauge railroad from a connection with the Erie Railroad at Kanona to Prattsburgh. Intermediate stations included Wheeler, Beans, and Stickneys.
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.
1884Sheet 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
2 listings protect 13 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1801, according to Wikidata. Prattsburgh’s post office opened in 1827, and the census of 1820 counted 1,377 people here.
How does Prattsburgh rank for history?
Prattsburgh is more historic than 85% 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.
What is on the National Register in Prattsburgh?
Two places: the Granger Cottage (listed 1984) and the Prattsburgh Commercial Historic District (2023).
How old are the homes in Prattsburgh?
19% of Prattsburgh’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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