History · Scio

Scio dates to 1805, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1830.

1805founded

0on the National Register

28%homes built before 1940

2famous people

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Quick answers

How Scio began

When was Scio founded?

1805

Scio dates its founding to 1805 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 602 in 18302020 census: 1,614221 years

How historic is Scio?

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1827.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Scio’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Scio is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Scio’s overall grade.

Founding era1805, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194028.4% of homes (±7.0) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A⁻National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NY town 12.3 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%

NewerOlder

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 Scio’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 points). Two sources give 1805.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Scio’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 Scio are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Scio, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1805: 221 years of Scio.Old housesHalf of Scio’s homes were built before 1957.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Scio’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Scio’s post office has been open since 1827. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Scio

1827–today

Knight's Creek

1858–1881

Petrolia

1881–1901

18201920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Knight CreekNorton SummitPetroliaRiverside Mobile Home Park

Gone or out of use

Babcock SchoolschoolMiddaugh SchoolschoolNorton SchoolschoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 4school

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Scio

FairlawnKnights CreekPalmer'sSaint Joseph's

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Timeline

Scio, 1805 to 1981

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

19th century
1805
FoundingScio is established
1827Post officeThe Scio post office opens
1828Born hereBurton Millard is born here
1858Post officeThe Knight's Creek post office opens
1881Post officeThe Knight's Creek post office closes
1881Post officeThe Petrolia post office opens
20th century
1901Post officeThe Petrolia post office closes
1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1981Born hereJason Dunham is born here

The story

How Scio came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Scio.

Read it all →

The town was first settled in 1805 by Joseph Knight, a minuteman in the American Revolution, from Oneida County. Knights Creek, which flows into the Genesee River near Scio, is named for him. The town of Scio was created in 1823 from the town of Angelica. Some of its territory was later lost during the formation of the towns of Amity (1830), Wellsville (1855), and Willing (1851).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Scio, decade by decade

Today1 recent

2025Scio library

On the map

Scio on the map, 1926 to 1965

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

1926Wellsville 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 Scio.

Every building

Scio, building by building, 1922

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.

1922Sheet 1 of 4

Sheets

+3 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Scio, census by census

Between 602 and 1,971 people in every census since 1830.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Scio’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Scio

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

See all →

Jason DunhamUnited States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recip… · b. 1981

Burton MillardAmerican politician · b. 1828

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Wellsville4 historic placesA⁺Amity3 historic placesA AlmaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town WirtIts storyB WardIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town AndoverIts storyB⁺

Questions about Scio’s history

What year was Scio founded?

In 1805, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Scio’s post office opened in 1827, and the census of 1830 counted 602 people here.

How does Scio rank for history?

Scio is more historic than 64% 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.

How old are the homes in Scio?

28% of Scio’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1957.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (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 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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