Ridgeway’s post office opened in 1815, and 59% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #114 of 758 in New York. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 50 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1820.
The Ridgeway post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, North Ridgeway (1837) and Jeddo (1848), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,496 in 18202020 census: 6,598211 years
How historic is Ridgeway?
A+
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ridgeway post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ridgeway’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ridgeway is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #114 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ridgeway’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 Ridgeway’s 93.6 sits above most of its state (75% of New York towns have fewer) while its 61 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Ridgeway’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Ridgeway had its own post office from 1815 to 1904. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Ridgeway
1815–1904
Knowlesville
1826–today
Medina
1827–today
North Ridgeway
1837–1903
Jeddo
1848–1904
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Applewood Mobile Home EstatesJeddoKnowlesvilleKnowlesville StationMedinaNorth RidgewayOak OrchardWest Ridgeway
Gone or out of use
Ensign Avenue Grade SchoolschoolGrant Landing StripairportMedina Grade SchoolschoolSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 16schoolSchool Number 18schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 7schoolSchool Number 8school
This area was settled after the American Revolutionary War largely by migrants from New England and eastern New York state, after the Seneca Nation, of the Haudenosaunee, or Six Nations ceded it in the Treaty of Big Tree, in 1797. The Seneca controlled this area at the time of the influx of White Americans but until the period of 1644–1647, it was the realm of The Wenro & Neuter People. Much of the area was purchased by Dutch speculators, known as the Holland Land Company, in 1792–1793.
Passages that mention Ridgeway, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Pioneer history of Orleans County, New York1871 · page 329Read the page →
Read the text
When I first settled in Ridgeway, the town of Ridgeway extended from Magdra county eastward to the Transit Line, having originally been the north part of Batavia, from which it was taken Such is some of my experience as a pioneer of Western New York. I have lived to see 'the wilderness blossom like the rose,' and to see many of my early companions in the hardships of this new
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Pioneer history of Orleans County, New York1871 · page 84Read the page →
Read the text
In June, 1812, the town of Ridgeway was set off from Batavia, which before then comprised the whole present county of Orleans. In April, 1813, the first town meeting was held on the Ridge road, west of Oak Orchard Creek. At that time, the flats along the creek were covered with water from bank to bank.
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
Ridgeway, 1815 to 1904
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Ridgeway post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ridgeway rank for history?
Ridgeway is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #114 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 Ridgeway?
7 listings: 5 buildings, among them the US Post Office-Medina (listed 1989, the first), 2 historic districts, the Main Street Historic District and the Main Street Historic District Boundary Increase, with 50 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 61 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Ridgeway?
59% of Ridgeway’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (6), 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 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.
1875
2018
2018
2018
