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History · Rushville

Rushville’s post office opened in 1819, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register.

1819first post office
1on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Rushville began

When was Rushville founded?

1819

The Rushville post office opened in 1819, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1866.

2020 census: 651207 years
Founding year: the first Rushville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1866.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rushville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Rushville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Rushville’s homes were built before 1940.Deep rootsA post office since 1819: 207 years of Rushville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rushville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Rushville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rushville.

Read it all →

Rushville was initially known as Federal Hollow, a name derived from its early settlers affinity for the Federalist political party, and its location within one of Canandaigua Lake's many hollows, or valleys. Elias Gilbert became the first settler in the area, and established one of the first saw mills on the West River in 1800.

The community was renamed Rushville in 1819, upon the establishment of a Post Station. The new name was chosen in honor of Dr. Benjamin Rush, a hero of the American Revolution, at the suggestion of local doctor Ira Bryant. Chester Loomis was appointed to be the first postmaster.

The Milton Wilson House, a historic landmark, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Rushville, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Marcus Whitman Est2017Marcus Whitman EstRushville, New York2009Rushville, New YorkNY 245 and NY 247 in2007NY 245 and NY 247 in
On the National Register

1 historic place in Rushville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

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

Questions about Rushville’s history

What year was Rushville founded?

The Rushville post office opened in 1819, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1866.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 (3), Wikipedia and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.