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Youngstown-Lockport Road, Ransomville, New YorkPhoto: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded
History · Ransomville

Ransomville’s post office opened in 1833, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1897 on, and old-book passages.

1833first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Ransomville began

When was Ransomville founded?

1833

The Ransomville post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,316193 years
Founding year: the first Ransomville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Ransomville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18976 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1980. Watch Ransomville change.Old housesHalf of Ransomville’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsA post office since 1833: 193 years of Ransomville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ransomville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ransomville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewYoungstown (Village); Youngstown Busine…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Ransomville on the map, 1897 to 1980

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

Ransomville on the 1897 USGS mapRansomville on the 1900 USGS mapRansomville on the 1948 USGS mapRansomville on the 1950 USGS mapRansomville on the 1965 USGS mapRansomville on the 1980 USGS map1897Tonawanda 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 Ransomville.

The story

How Ransomville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ransomville.

Read it all →

The town of Ransomville was established in 1842 by the Ransom and Curtiss families and was named after William Henry Harrison Ransom. The Curtiss family, led by brothers Gideon and Capt. Gilbert Curtiss, were the first to settle in the area in the 1820s, establishing the early links with neighboring towns.

The son of immigrants from Sullivan County in the Hudson River Valley, W.H.H. Ransom arrived in Niagara County in 1839 and built a farm that he worked with his wife, Elisa Estes Ransom. In 1846, Ransom purchased a general store from his uncle, Jehiel Ransom, who had been in Niagara County since 1826 and served as postmaster. Ransom had 13 children and died at the age of 74 in Ransomville on December 29, 1889.

ChaptersFoundingDevelopment

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Ransomville in 1902

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

“Near the site of the present Village of Ransomville we received a hearty welcome in the home of my father’s sister, Mrs. Newton Phelps.
Souvenir history of Niagara County, New York1902 · page 106Read the page →
Read the text

“Near the site of the present Village of Ransomville we received a hearty welcome in the home of my father’s sister, Mrs. Newton Phelps.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
During this period a mail carrier on horseback carried mail between Fort Niagara and Rochester. After the establishment of the postoffice in Ransomville it came through that village. The first postmaster in Youngstown was Judge Hinman, who was appointed about 1820.
Souvenir history of Niagara County, New York1902 · page 107Read the page →
Read the text

During this period a mail carrier on horseback carried mail between Fort Niagara and Rochester. After the establishment of the postoffice in Ransomville it came through that village. The first postmaster in Youngstown was Judge Hinman, who was appointed about 1820.

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

Ransomville, 1875 to 1988

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875In the archiveYoungstown (Village); Youngstown Business Notices.; Ransomville (Village)
  3. 1884Born hereWillis Winter Bradley is born here
  4. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1977Born hereChuck Hossfeld is born here
  7. 1988Born hereBilly Quarantillo is born here
By decade

Ransomville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Youngstown (Village); Youngstown Business Notices.; Ransomville (Village)1875Youngstown (Village); Youngstown Business Notices.; R…
Today1 recent
Youngstown-Lockport Road2015Youngstown-Lockport Road
Every building

Ransomville, building by building, 1914

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 sheet.

Ransomville fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Youngstown (Village); Youngstown Business Notices.; Ransomville (Village)
Retake this viewYoungstown (Village); Youngstown Business Notices.; Ransomville (Village), 1875

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ransomville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Ransomville

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

See all →
Willis Winter BradleyAmerican politician · b. 1884
B
Billy QuarantilloAmerican mixed martial arts fighter · b. 1988
C
Chuck HossfeldAmerican racing driver · b. 1977
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Porter4 historic placesALewiston3 historic placesB

Questions about Ransomville’s history

What year was Ransomville founded?

The Ransomville post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.