Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1862.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Romulus’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Romulus is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #264 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 National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Romulus’ 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 Romulus’ 25.7 sits near the middle of its state (60% of New York towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1789.
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 (±8.3 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 Romulus’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Before the American Revolution, this area was controlled by both the Cayuga and the Seneca nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). French Jesuit missionaries visited the area in the 17th century. The Sullivan Expedition in 1779 destroyed native villages and drove many of the Native Americans away. Romulus contains the area of Kendaia (Apple Town), a former Iroquois (Seneca) village destroyed by the residents in anticipation of the arrival of the Sullivan Expedition on September 5, 1779.
The celebrity of Romulus seems to be of tliis latter kind. He founded a city. A thousand other men have founded cities ; and in doing their work have evinced perhaps as much courage, sagacity, and mental power as Romulus displayed. The city of Romulus, however, became in the end the queen and mistress of the world. It rose to so exalted a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Plutarch's lives of Romulus, Lycurgus, Solon, Pericles, Cato, Pompey, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Demosthenes, Cicero, Mark Antony, Brutus, and others, and his comparisons. With notes, critical and historical1889 · page 27Read the page →
Read the text
Romulus is likewise said to have introduced the Sacred Fire, and to have appointed the holy virgins, called Vestals. Others attribute this to Numa, but allow that Romulus was remarkably strict in observing other religious rites, and skilled in divination, for which purpose he bore the Lituus, This is a crooked staff, with which those that sit to observe the flight of birds describe the several quarters of the heavens. It was kept in the Capitol, but lost
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Romulus was left with a number of senators who were at that time attending upon him, alone, on the shore of a little lake which was near the place that had been chosen for the parade. After a short time the senators themselves came away from the ground, and returned to the city ; but Romulus was not with them. The story which they told 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
Romulus, 1789 to 2010
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1789, according to Wikidata. Romulus’ post office opened in 1862, and the census of 1820 counted 3,698 people here.
How does Romulus rank for history?
Romulus is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #264 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 Romulus?
One place: the David and Mary Kinne Farmstead (listed 2007).
How old are the homes in Romulus?
35% of Romulus’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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