Spencer’s post office opened in 1808, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #402 of 758 in New York. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1820.
The Spencer post office opened in 1808, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, West Candor (1840) and North Spencer (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,252 in 18202020 census: 2,968218 years
How historic is Spencer?
A−
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Spencer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Spencer’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Spencer is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #402 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Spencer’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 Spencer’s 20.6 sits near the middle of its state (57% 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 still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 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 Spencer’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The land for the town was purchased in 1791 and settlement began in 1794.
When the town was organized in 1806 from the Town of Tioga (the Old Town of Owego), it contained territory that is now in more newly organized towns: Candor (1811), Caroline (1811), Danby (1811), Newfield (1811), and Cayuta (1824) in Tioga and other counties.
The Halsey Valley Grand Army of the Republic Meeting Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Town resident Cal Harris was tried four times for murder, and ultimately acquitted, over a decade following the 2001 disappearance of his estranged wife.
Passages that mention Spencer, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of political theories from Rousseau to Spencer1920 · page 399Read the page →
Read the text
This last reference is to a review of Spencer's volume on Justice written by myself twenty-eight years ago. As a re-reading of Spencer has confirmed the opinions therein expressed, I have ventured to incorporate some paits of the article in the following paragraphs.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of political theories from Rousseau to Spencer1920 · page 409Read the page →
Read the text
In the three volumes of which this is the last we have ranged from the days of Socrates to those of Herbert Spencer. From Socrates to Spencer was a lapse of twenty-three centuries. A history covering that period must record the acts and the thoughts of some seventy generations of men. Seventy times self-conscious reflection on matters of political theory received its impress from a different set of minds. To enlarge on
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
Spencer, 1808 to 2010
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.
The Spencer post office opened in 1808, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Spencer rank for history?
Spencer is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #402 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 Spencer?
Two places: the First Presbyterian Church (listed 2005) and the Nichols Park (2021).
How old are the homes in Spencer?
20% of Spencer’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, 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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2024
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