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Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise, Ithaca CollegePhoto: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · South Hill

Half of South Hill’s homes were built after 1979

Most of South Hill was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0

What stands out about South Hill’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 South Hill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19005 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1978. Watch South Hill change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Hill’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
On the map

South Hill on the map, 1900 to 1978

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

South Hill on the 1900 USGS mapSouth Hill on the 1949 USGS mapSouth Hill on the 1951 USGS mapSouth Hill on the 1969 USGS mapSouth Hill on the 1978 USGS map1900Dryden 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 South Hill.

The story so far

South Hill, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of South Hill yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

South Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 7,245 at the 2020 census. The South Hill CDP is located within the town of Ithaca and it is located near the south end of Cayuga Lake. The name South Hill is shared with a contiguous area within the city of Ithaca. Ithaca College is located in the South Hill CDP.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 6,673 to 7,245 (+9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

South Hill, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00020002020Peak: 7,245

Between 6,003 and 7,245 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to South Hill

Nobody well known was born in South Hill itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
David Foster WallaceAmerican fiction writer and essayist · b. 1962
Alex HaleyAmerican biographer, screenwriter, and novelist · b. 1921
S
Susan KareAmerican artist and graphic designer · b. 1954
Margaret GellerAmerican astronomer · b. 1947
Kyle DakeAmerican wrestler · b. 1991
Dustin BrownAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1984
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Ithaca1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIthaca29 historic placesA

Questions about South Hill’s history

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.