Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1820.
Springwater dates its founding to 1816 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1820.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Springwater is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Springwater’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.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Springwater’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveSilhouette of Mr. Pierce of
Born hereEmily Maria Scott is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Springwater.
The first settlers arrived around 1807. The town was established in 1816 from the towns of Sparta and Naples. (Naples is a town in Ontario County.)
In 1866, a serious conflict between landowners and squatters resulted in the wholesale eviction of many people who were not living on their own land.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Springwater, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Springwater village is in Springwater valley — an enterprising and prosperous place, which had a population of 500 in 1900. It is the chief business center of the town — a good trading point, with several stores, and manufactories, an enterprising newspaper called "Enterprise," and the Erie railroad near by for transportation. Webster's Crossing is a hamlet and Erie railroad station in the northwestern part of the town.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
On the site of the village of Springwater there was but one log house from the first settlement of the valley lo 1824. In that year a state road laid out from Bath to Livonia, crossing another road, established a four corners, and made the spot the natural center for trade, when buildings began to appear.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Joshua Herrick, Hosea Grover, Peter Welch and Adam Miller. In 18 13 there were but thirty families in the township. What is now the village of Springwater contained but one dwelling, built by Samuel Story, a frame barn built by Eber Watkins, a small store built by Hosea Grover, in that same year, two or three saw-mills and a frame grist-mill. In 1817 the principal inhabitants were
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
About the year 1824 an effort was made to form a new county from the towns of Cohocton, Naples, and a part of Springwater. A special town meeting was held at the house of Jacob Cannon, in the town of Springwater, on the first day of January, 1825, for the purpose of opposing this attempt At that meeting the following resolution was passed : —
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1820s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Springwater. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Springwater.
Between 1,154 and 2,832 people in every census since 1820.
20 censuses, 1820–2010.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Springwater’s Wikipedia page.
Springwater’s post office has been open since 1824. Another post office, East Springwater, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1816, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Springwater’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1820 counted 1,154 people here.
Springwater is more historic than 67% 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.
33% of Springwater’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1974.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (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 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.
2017