Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Shortsville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shortsville is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shortsville’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 Shortsville’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1804.
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 (±9.0 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 Shortsville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally called "Short Mill," Shortsville began its existence in 1804 when Theophilus Short built two mills along the shores of the Canandaigua Outlet; the village was then incorporated in 1889.
Shortsville grew as a mill town and a number of flour, wool and paper mills were built in addition to Short's original flour and saw mills.
Companies that once inhabited Shortsville include Empire Drill Works, founded by Hiram and Calvin Brown in 1850 and operated until 1900, Shortsville Wheel Company, a manufacturer of carriage and automobile wheels, founded in 1889 and closed in the early 20th century, and Papec Machine Company, a manufacturer of farming implements, which ceased operation in the 1980s.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Shortsville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Phelps 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 Shortsville.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Shortsville in 1893
Passages that mention Shortsville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Ontario county, New York1893 · page 422Read the page →
Read the text
ville, that sufficient power for a grist-mill could be obtained, and this place was chosen for the pioneer mill. It is on the north bounds of the town of Hopewell adjoining the town of Manchester and about a mile south from Shortsville. Here Oliver Phelps erected a grist-mill in 1791 which was known as the Phelps Mill. Although but a crude and pigmy affair, it answered the purpose for some time, and the pioneer settlers came from long distances to get their grists ground. Samuel Day was engaged to run this mill, which had but one run of stone from which the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Ontario County, New York1893 · page 422Read the page →
Read the text
ville, that sufficient power for a grist-mill could be obtained, and this place was chosen for the pioneer mill. It is on the north bounds of the town of Hopewell adjoining the town of Manchester and about a mile south from Shortsville. Here Oliver Phelps erected a grist-mill in 1791 which was known as the Phelps Mill. Although but a crude and pigmy affair, it answered the purpose for some time, and the pioneer settlers came from long distances to get their grists ground. Samuel Day was engaged to run this mill, which had but one run of stone from which the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Ontario county, New York1893 · page 344Read the page →
Read the text
The Village of Shortsville. — In all respects this is the most important village in Manchester, and in point of manufactures it ranks second only to Geneva in the county. In 1804 Theophilus Short came to this locality and built both flour and sawmills, from which fact the little hamlet thus built up became known as Short's Mills. In 1822 Mr.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Ontario County, New York1893 · page 344Read the page →
Read the text
The Village of Shortsville. — In all respects this is the most important village in Manchester, and in point of manufactures it ranks second only to Geneva in the county. In 1804 Theophilus Short came to this locality and built both flour and sawmills, from which fact the little hamlet thus built up became known as Short’s Mills. In 1822 Mr.
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
Shortsville, 1804 to 1902
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.
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 year, then a sheet.
1904Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewShortsville, N.Y, 1892
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Shortsville’s page.
In 1804, according to Wikidata. Shortsville’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1880 counted 620 people here.
How does Shortsville rank for history?
Shortsville is more historic than 74% 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 Shortsville?
60% of Shortsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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