Scriba’s post office opened in 1812, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #495 of 758 in New York. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1820.
The Scriba post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, North Scriba (1856), South Scriba (1869) and Lansing (1871), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 899 in 18202020 census: 6,617214 years
How historic is Scriba?
B+
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Scriba post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Scriba’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Scriba is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #495 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Scriba’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 Scriba’s 9.1 sits near the middle of its state (44% of New York towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 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 Scriba’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
Scriba had its own post office from 1812 to 1905. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Scriba
1812–1905
North Scriba
1856–1906
South Scriba
1869–1906
Lansing
1871–1906
Lycoming
1882–today
Walker
1898–1899
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Clark CornersFawn Estates Mobile Home ParkHammonds CornerHillcrest East Mobile Home ParkHilltop Trailer ParkJones CornersLakeviewLansingLycomingMaiden Lane Mobile Home ParkMichael O'Brian's Mobile Home ParkNorth ScribaSouth ScribaWalker
Gone or out of use
Kingdom FieldairportSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 11schoolSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 14schoolSchool Number 15schoolSchool Number 16schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 8school
Lost half of its people between 1840 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.
20 censuses, 1820–2010.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Scriba’s Wikipedia page.
The story so far
Scriba, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Scriba yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Scriba is a town in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 6,840 at the 2010 census. The town is named after landowner George Scriba. The Town of Scriba is east of the City of Oswego. The town was created in 1811 from the Town of Volney, then known as the Town of Fredericksburg. The town of Scriba includes an Oswego County fire department, a municipal building, highway department, justice center, buildings and grounds department and a water department, as well as a child care center, town park and sunset bay park with lake access. The Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station and the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant are both also located within the towns territo…
Its first post office opened in 1812. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 6,840 to 6,617 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Scriba in 1877
Passages that mention Scriba, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Fredericksburgh, and was surveyed by Benjamiti Winch and Miles Doolittle, in 1796. It was the largest township of the six above named, and included the south half of the present town of Scriba and the west third of Volney. The eighteenth survey-township was called Oswego. It was surveyed by Elijah Blake, in 1794, and included that part of the present town of Scriba north of the base-line of Scriba's patent. The twentj'-fourth township was called
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The village of Constantia, a station on the New York and Oswego Midland railroad, pleasantly situated atthe mouth of Scriba creek, was incorporated in 1836, but has since ceased to exercise its corporate rights. The population in 1870 was five hundred and eighty-seven. There are within its limits one lawyer, two physicians, three churches, five
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
Scriba, 1812 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Scriba post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Scriba rank for history?
Scriba is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #495 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 Scriba?
One place: the Riverside Cemetery (listed 1993).
How old are the homes in Scriba?
15% of Scriba’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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