Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sempronius. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1898Moravia 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 Sempronius.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Sempronius had its own post office from 1800 to 1911. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Sempronius
1800–1911
Dresserville
1851–1903
Glen Haven
1855–1911
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DresservilleGlen HavenMorse Mill
Gone or out of use
School Number 1schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 8schoolSchool Number 9school
Sempronius was part of the Central New York Military Tract. The first settler arrived c. 1793. Sempronius became a town in 1799 by breaking away from Scipio, but its area was later reduced by the formation of newer towns: Marcellus (Onondaga County) in 1804, Moravia and Niles in 1833.
Sempronius was the birthplace of the 12th Governor of Illinois (1860–1861) John Wood on December 20, 1798.
Passages that mention Sempronius, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Cayuga County, New York1879 · page 483Read the page →
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November 15th, 182 1, "the members of the Baptist Church of Christ residing in the town of Sempronius," assembled at the house of Eli Atwater and organized and adopted as their name the " Second Baptist Church of Christ in Sempronius." December 13th, 1821, they arranged with Nathaniel L. Moore to preach every fourth Sabbath for $35, "to be paid in produce at the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Cayuga County, New York1879 · page 453Read the page →
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or two after, though but one survived the rough treatment and exposure. He and Jacob T. De- Witt were the first two justices in the old town of Sempronius, both of whom held the ofiice continuously from 1798 to 1803, and the latter till 1805. He was also the first supervisor of that town in 1798.
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
Sempronius, 1798 to 1911
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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 (4), 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.
1904
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